Fire and Water
by Lady Xana
Summary: It's basically a University AU where Avalance meet as roommates and their relationship will grow from there. First as friends and there as something more. Sara is studying Surgery and Ava is studying Psychology.
1. Chapter 1 - Feline and Prairie Eyes

**AN: **Hey there! So I had this new idea and I felt inspired enough to try it and thought it would be fun to write it.

If I get something wrong about how Universities in the USA work is because I'm not from there. I'm from Portugal and things work very differently here, so please forgive any mistakes I will probably make.

Anyways, enjoy the new story!

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

_"Beep! Beep! Beep!"_

Sara opens one eye and tries to adjust to the sunlight that's coming through the blinds covering her bedroom window. She rolls on her back to stretch, a yawn taking over her.

She grabs her phone and turns off the alarm. The screen shows her it's 7 A.M. sharp, which means it's time to get up. She gets up and makes her way to the bathroom to take a quick shower before getting dressed; once she's ready she holds her hair up in a ponytail, slides her phone into her jeans pocket and gets downstairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning people!" she greets her sister, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She makes her way to her father who's by the stove making some pancakes. Sara gives him a kiss as well.

"Someone's excited," her father says, dropping two pancakes on the plate in front of her and other two on her sister's plate.

"I have to agree dad," her sister says, "I think I've never seen you so happy about going to school."

Sara laughs at that. She picks up a pancake with her fork and points it at her sister, "It's not just **_school _**Laurel!" she claims, biting off a piece of her pancake, "I'm finally going to be learning what I **_want_**."

Their father sits down in front of them, eating his pancakes as well, "You're right about that kiddo! Hopefully from now on you won't cause so much trouble," he states half-jokingly, earning a glare from her.

"I'm going to Med School dad, not a Nun's Monastery," she retorts, earning a laugh from Laurel.

"She's right dad," her sister admits, "Besides, if anything happens I'll be close by. Don't worry," she tells him, trying to reassure the man.

"Alright, alright," he eventually concedes, "Just remember; studies first, boys later. Now finish your pancakes, both of you, we have to get going in a few minutes."

Both girls nod and return to their meals.

* * *

**AFTER TWO HOURS OF DRIVING**

Sara gets out of her dad's car and breathes in the fresh air, "Harvard University! Finally!" she says out loud with extended arms and a huge smile on her face.

Her sister joins her side, "Just wait until you have to do late night studying and attend early morning lectures," she whispers in Sara's ear.

Sara narrows her eyes at her, "Way to ruin the mood Laurel."

Laurel laughs at that, "I'm just messing with you Sara, I'm sure you're going to like it."

The younger girl smiles sincerely at her sister, "Thanks sis."

Their father clears his throat behind them to get their attention. They turn to look at him, surrounded by luggage already placed on the sidewalk, "A little help ladies?"

"Sure!" Laurel says, grabbing one of her sister's bags, "Let's escort Sara to her new house," she smiles at herself, remembering about her first day of College. All the excitement and fear of the unknown, and the great experiences that were to come. She's truly happy that her little sister can now experience that as well.

Once they get close to Sara's dorm's room they can hear some chatter coming from inside. They decide to wait a few minutes for the people to walk out but Sara eventually grows impatient, "Oh come on, let's just go in already!"

She makes her way to the door and knocks to get whoever's in there attention. Her eyes first land on a couple, a man and a woman, probably on their forties. Then she looks at a girl, probably her age, blonde and taller than her. Actually quite beautiful; who's suddenly making her way over to her.

"Hey there!" she greets her with a big smile, "You must be my roommate."

Sara smiles back at her, "I guess I am," she says, stepping inside the room with her dad and sister trailing behind. She puts her bags down and extends her hand for the other girl to take, "My name is Sara. And you are?" she asks with a charming smile on her face.

The blonde takes her hand, shaking it, "I'm Ava, Ava Sharpe. Nice to meet you," she then turns to the couple next to her, "These are my parents, Louis and Cindy."

Sara shakes hands with them as well, and then turns to her father, "This is my dad –"

Her father steps more into the room and cuts her off, "Detective Quentin Lance, pleasure to meet you both."

Sara eyes him suspiciously but lets it slide and instead turns to her sister, "And this is my older sister, Laurel." Her sister smiles and greets them.

Ava clears her throat, "Well, mom and dad, now that all introductions have been made, I think it's safe for you to get going," she motions to the door at her parents.

"Ah yes honey, you're right, we don't want to catch too much traffic on the highway," he says, kissing her forehead before leaving. He makes his way to the door but his wife stays behind, "Sweetie?" he calls to get her attention, but the woman doesn't leave Ava's side.

Ava sighs at her mother, "Mom come on, we already talked about this. I'm gonna be fine! Just go already," she says smiling softly.

Her mom steps closer to her and hugs her tightly, "Just one last hug honey!" her mom says, stepping away after a couple of seconds, "My little Ava, I can't believe you're finally starting College."

Ava's cheek turn a deep shade of red at that. She knows her mom has the best intentions, but did she have to say those things in front of complete strangers?

Sara stifles a laugh at Ava's red face, she actually feels a bit bad for her at this point. Not enough to keep her from mocking her about that later though, maybe when they're finally alone.

Ava's glad her dad finally decides to intervene, almost dragging her mom out of there, "Come on sweetie, we'll come visit her on the weekend. Let's go."

The girl sighs of relief when they're finally out of the room and sits down on the bed, "Thank God, they're finally gone," she admits chuckling to herself. She then realizes that there's still three people in the room with her, her face turns into one of guilt, "I mean, don't get me wrong. I love my parents, but they can be a bit too much sometimes."

Sara smiles at her, "It's okay, I get it," she tells her, looking sideways at her dad with a smirk on her face.

Ava laughs, "Can you believe that they wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to get stuck with some psychopath of a roommate? I swear they were not going to leave until you got here."

"Ahah! They can rest assured, I'm totally normal," Sara tells her. Silence takes over the room for a couple of minutes until her sister decides to intervene.

"Well dad, maybe we should go?" Laurel suggests to her father, "I'm sure Sara will be okay without us," she smiles kindly at her sister.

"Right!" Quentin nods in agreement. He hugs Sara, "Goodbye kiddo, I love you."

Sara hugs him back, "Love you too dad."

"And don't forget, studies first," he says after letting go of her.

Sara rolls her eyes at that and Laurel laughs, "Yes dad," she says, hugging her sister.

"Now go, both of you. I'll be fine."

They finally leave after saying their goodbyes to Ava as well.

"Well then, it looks like it's just the two of us now," Sara says turning to her roommate.

"Right. Your family seems nice," Ava tells her with a smile.

"They're okay I guess," Sara smiles back, "Have you picked your bed yet?"

Ava gets up from where she's seated, "Oh no, actually. I was waiting for you to show up."

"Alright. Do you mind if I take the one on the right?" Sara asks, pointing to the bed next to her.

"Be my guest."

"Thanks."

After deciding on that, both girls start to rummage through their respective luggage and place their clothing and personal items on the wardrobe and bedside table drawers next to each one's bed. Sara is the first one to be done, sitting on her bed watching Ava attentively. The latter girl is still putting her clothing away, taking her time neatly folding each piece.

"So, Ava," Sara speaks, clearing the silence between them, "Why are you here?"

"To get a degree and therefore find a proper, well-paying job," Ava answers her, looking at Sara over her shoulder with a smirk on her face. The smaller girl rolls her eyes, a smile finding a way into her face, "Ah, ah!" she says with sarcasm, a smile finds a way into her own face, "I meant, what are you in here for? In terms of studies?"

Ava finishes putting away her things and sits in her own bed, staring straight at her roommate, "Psychology," she says, a proud smile on her face.

"Ah, so you want to poke into other people's brains," Sara states, pointing to her head with her index finger.

"Wouldn't that make me more of a wannabe brain surgeon?" Ava asks, raising an eyebrow.

Sara narrows her eyes at her, "You know what I mean."

The taller girl chuckles at her, "I do, I was just messing with you," she says shrugging her shoulders, "But you're right, I am _slightly _obsessed with the way people think and act. Serial killers mostly."

Her roommate's mouth falls open at the confession, turning into a mischievous smirk seconds after, "Wouldn't peg you for a Ted Bundy fangirl. Should I sleep with one eye open at night?"

Ava scrunches her face at that, "God no! I said I'm interested in the way his mind would work, not in being like him."

Sara grins at her and says, "Great! That means I can keep sleeping like I did at home."

"And how would that be?" Ava asks, genuinely curious.

"Full on naked," Sara admits with a shit eating smile covering her face.

Ava's jaw falls open comically, and she curses her curiosity. She feels her whole face reddening and decides to close her mouth. After clearing her throat she says, "You can't be serious?"

Sara rejoices in the way she left the girl in front of her all hot and bothered, "Oh but I am," she shrugs her shoulders, "You should really try it Aves. It's truly freeing. Besides, what's the point in sleeping with clothes on anyway? It's not like you're going out somewhere."

_"Aves? Really?! This girl just met me and she is already calling me by a nickname?" _Ava thought. She exhales deeply, trying not to snap at Sara.

"That might make sense while you're living with your family," she says, "But in here we both have to share this tiny room, and I most certainly don't want to be looking at your naked body."

Sara chuckles at that, getting up and walking closer to where Ava is, "Trust me," she whispers, holding the taller girl's gaze, "It would be a pleasure for you to see my fine piece of ass," she says confidently, gesturing to her body with her hands.

Ava swallows hard at Sara's words, finding herself lost in the crystal blue of her eyes. She swears to herself that she has never seen such a clear shade of blue on a human being. They look almost animalistic, like they should belong to a feline and not to her annoying roommate.

She catches herself being captured by them, and she only moves her gaze away from them when she lands on the group of light freckles that cover Sara's entire face.

Meanwhile, Sara's smirk falters slightly to a look of wonder when her eyes focus on Ava's, and she's lost trying to decide if they are green, blue, or a mix of both. In reality it doesn't truly matter, what matters is how mesmerized she is by them. A warm feeling settles in her chest, they remind her of prairies when spring starts to arrive, when the dry grass starts to grow and turns a light shade of green with a clear blue sky right above that seems to have no end.

She decides to snap out of her trance and notices that Ava is flat out staring at her face. She feels a bit self-conscious, "Ava? Hello?" She asks, waving a hand in front of the other girl's face.

Ava clears her throat and averts her gaze from Sara's, "Sorry... Were you saying something?"

Sara notices her discomfort and feels a tad guilty, "Listen, you don't have to worry about me sleeping naked. I was just messing with you, I promise I'll sleep with clothes on."

The taller girl looks directly at her again, "Oh, yeah okay. Thanks," she says, giving her a small smile.

"What about you?" Ava asks, gesturing at her with her hand, in an attempt to change the subject, "What are you here for?"

Sara smiles brightly at her, "Surgery!"

"Really?!" Her roommate asks rather surprised, "You know that's a very tough area to choose from."

"I'm aware. I didn't choose it randomly Ava," Sara tells her, crossing her arms in front of her chest, a bit annoyed at the other girl's remark.

"You're gonna have to study a lot, and then work for many hours. Your social life will probably almost cease to exist," Ava starts to ramble, not even realizing Sara getting madder by her words.

"I said I am aware!" She repeats, raising her voice. A frown is on her face when she asks, "Besides, what do you even know about it?! It's not like you chose the same subject."

Ava shrugs her shoulders, "My dad is a General Practitioner and he owns a Private Practice, so I grew up with him always working and not being around much."

Sara's anger subsides after hearing Ava's words, and she moves to sit next to her on her bed. Their bodies are not touching, but she's close enough to show a bit of support, "I know what that's like. My dad's a Detective so I also got used to not having him around much," she says, giving her roommate a small smile.

"Looks like we already have something in common then," Ava says, smiling back at her.

"True," Sara adds. Suddenly something else catches her attention when she feels her phone vibrate in her jeans' pocket. She unlocks it and a grin creeps into her face when she sees who texted her.

**_Z: _**_Hey Lance! Are you done with the stuff in your dorm? They're having a party tonight at nine for the newbies and we absolutely have to be there!_

Sara types out a reply quickly.

**_Sara: _**_Yep! I'll be there! Btw, "newbies", really?_

**_Z: _**_Hey, don't blame me! I wasn't the one coming up with the name, the party is literally called "Party for the Newbies"._

**_Sara: _**_Wow, they really used their imagination on that one..._

**_Z: _**_Right? x) Anyways, what time should I stop by?_

**_Sara: _**_Around eight, sounds good?_

**_Z: _**_Great! See you later ;)_

When Sara finishes her chat with her friend, she notices that Ava is no longer sitting besides her but is now facing their bedroom window, looking outside with a soft expression on her face. Sara likes how the sunlight reflects on her long blonde hair, turning it even lighter, almost like gold.

"See something you like?" She asks, getting up to stand next to her. The taller girl turns to look at her, "I was just admiring how we can see the whole campus garden and how clear the sky is today. It makes me want to take a picture of it, with the window serving as a frame."

Sara lets her words sink in for a while, "You like photography then?"

Ava's face breaks into a huge smile and she blushes, "Oh, I love it! It's one of my greatest passions!"

Sara feels herself suddenly wanting to know more about this girl, "That's cool! What else are you passionate about?" She asks, her tone close to flirting.

"Well, you already know about Psychology. I also love History and everything that has to do with other cultures, including learning other languages, but my favourite remains the English one," she admits smiling down at her roommate, "What about you?"

The freckled girl shrugs, pursing her lips in thought, "Hm... I love staying active you know? Martial Arts are my favourite, I train at least once a week. I also used to play soccer when I was younger with some childhood friends, but I don't do it much nowadays," she tells Ava, a fond smile on her face at remembering the memories of it.

"Sounds great," Ava says, a sincere smile on her lips, "You should play again then, if it made you happy."

"Yeah, I guess so. Maybe I'll even invite you to join us."

The taller girl's face turns into one of dread, "Oh no! Trust me, you don't want me in the field."

Sara chuckles at her expression, "Ah come on! You can't be that bad!"

"Sara, I once kicked the ball towards my own teammate on the face because I thought she was an opponent."

The smaller girl is now laughing out loud, hand on her belly. Ava starts laughing along with her, "And that wasn't even the worst part. She started bleeding from the nose profusely and because of that she couldn't play the rest of the game. Since she was the best player, we ended up losing the game. After that she didn't speak to me for a whole month."

"Oh god, I can't with you!" Sara says, struggling to speak between laughs, "I'll keep that in mind whenever I think of inviting you along."

"I mean, you can still invite me, but I will just be there to watch," Ava says shrugging her shoulders, a smile gracing her smiles.

Sara eventually stops laughing and says, "Speaking of invitations! My best friend Zari texted me saying there's gonna be a party tonight for the newbies at the University. She's picking me up around eight, do you wanna come?"

Ava scratches the back of her neck anxiously, "Ahm... I better not, those parties are really not my thing. Besides, tomorrow I have some classes so I should get some rest."

Sara looks at her questioningly, "Hm, been to many parties have you?"

"Not really, I just –"

"Then how can you know that it's not your thing? That's the same as saying you don't like pineapple on pizza without ever having tried it."

Ava chuckles at that, "Are you seriously comparing a social situation with eating pizza?!"

"Hey!" Sara says, feigning being offended, "Pizza is a very important thing for me alright?"

That remark gets another chuckle from Ava, who shakes her head, "Still, there's too many people at those parties and everybody gets drunk or stoned. What's the point in going?!"

"That's not all there is to it. There's good music, _mostly_; food and you get to meet new people, maybe even make some friends, see some good looking boys," Sara wriggles her eyebrows at the last part, "Or girls," she adds, smirking at Ava's blushing cheeks.

"I don't know..." Ava says, moving to sit down on her bed again. Sara follows after, standing in front of her, "Come on! It's gonna be fun! Besides, how's it gonna look if you skip the first party on campus? You'll look like an outcast."

Ava shrugs her shoulders at that, "I don't mind about that, in fact I'm used to it," she admits, adverting her gaze from Sara, who frowns at the confession. She feels a pang on her chest, and something similar to pity, but not quite it.

"Look Ava, I know we only met today but you seem like a nice person and I think it would be fun to hang out of these four walls," she says, gesturing to the room around them, "But, I don't wanna pressure you into anything. If you really don't wanna go I respect it."

Ava looks at Sara, pondering all the pros and cons of going to the party. She knows it would be good for her to loosen up a little, after all she promised herself that this would be a new beginning, that she would try to have a different attitude towards trying new things. A welcome party to the new students does sound like the perfect opportunity to do it, and it's not like she would be going alone, at least her roommate would be there.

"Alright," she says, nodding her head slowly, "I'll go to the party with you."

Sara does a little celebratory dance and smiles brightly at her, making Ava chuckle and roll her eyes at her.

"Great! Let's get ready then before Zari shows up, she hates waiting on people," Sara says, making her way to the dresser. She starts to pull some clothes out and laying them on her bed. Ava eyes her with curiosity, "Should I change clothes too?" She asks her, looking down at what she's wearing. A blue polo shirt with some old jeans and white sneakers, looks good enough for her.

Sara turns her attention to her, eyeing her up and down, "I mean, I'm sure you probably have an outfit that would look better to wear to a party."

Ava's cheeks reddens at that, "Not really," she confesses, scratching her neck nervously.

Her roommate stares at her with eyes wide open for a second before saying, "Well, I guess you're borrowing some of mine then!" She says smiling, making her way to her own bed again, "Come here," she motions for Ava to come closer. When Ava is next to her she picks up a sleeveless navy blue top and holds it in front of the taller girl, who in turn looks down at the piece of clothing being pressed against her.

"Do you like it? I think it goes well with your skin and eyes," Sara tells her, smiling up to see her reaction.

"Yeah, I like it," she says, smiling to herself, "Can I check it on the mirror?"

"Of course! Better yet, why don't you try it on? Take these white jeans as well, although they will probably be a bit shorter on you since your legs seem to go on for days," Sara says smirking.

Ava narrows her eyes at her, but her lips are formed into a smirk too, "I think you're just really short Sara," she tells her back, dodging a pillow the other girl tries to throw at her face, "Careful there! Don't forget I have longer legs than you, I can easily out run you."

"Just try the damn clothes already!"

Ava laughs and makes her way to the bathroom to change; she comes out after a few minutes. When she's done, Sara has already changed as well. She is now wearing black jeans that perfectly hug her curves – _not that Ava would ever pay attention to that_ – and a dark red crop top showing a bit of cleavage. Ava quickly turns her gaze away when Sara turns her attention to her, "Well, let me see you!" The smaller girl says, "You look great Aves, I was right about that colour going well with your eyes," she says smiling at her, "Now all that's left is some makeup to really make them pop. You'll have all eyes turning on you when we reach the party."

If it were any other person telling that to Ava, she wouldn't believe it. She would think they were simply mocking her or lying straight to her face, but Sara's smile looks so sincere that she almost has no trouble believing her words.

"Thanks," she says blushing a little, "You look great too," she admits, gesturing at her.

"Thank you very much my lady!" Sara thanks her taking a small bow after, making Ava laugh.

"Now, let's talk makeup! How do you usually do it?" She asks Ava, making her way to the bathroom.

"I don't, actually..." she hears her say from the bedroom. Sara immediately comes out the bathroom with raised eyebrows, "Like, never?"

"Nope!" Ava tells her, shaking her head.

A mischievous smile makes its way to Sara's face, "Interesting," she says, a twinkle on her eyes, "Does that mean I will have the pleasure of doing your makeup tonight?"

"Sure, it could be fun," she agrees, smiling lightly at her, "Just don't push it too much alright?"

"Hey, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I used to do this all the time with my sister," Sara assures her, returning to the bathroom to get a few extra things. She comes back with some lip gloss and eyeliner.

"Okay, sit down on the chair by the desk!" She tells Ava, enthusiasm evident on her voice.

Ava smiles and does as she says. She waits for Sara to settle in front of her, who's laying the make up articles on top of the desk.

The freckled girl picks up the eyeliner, "You ready?" She asks, smiling when Ava nods, "Okay, close your eyes for me."

Her roommate does as she's told and waits in anticipation, butterflies settling in her stomach, although she's not very sure why. She was never a big fan of wearing makeup, but somehow having it done by someone else sounded like a fun idea.

"I'm gonna start with your left eye alright?" She hears Sara ask, her breath itching a bit when she feels her coming closer, only a few inches away from her face. She relaxes when she feels the brush against her eyelid, telling herself to focus on that.

"Perfect," she hears Sara whisper and goes to open her eyes but her roommate's voice stops her, "Not yet Ava," she says with an amused voice, "Let me finish your other eye first."

Ava nods and keeps her eyes shut, waiting for Sara's order to open them. After a few minutes she speaks again, "Okay, you can open them now."

Ava does as she's told and looks at the tiny table top makeup mirror that's settled on the desk. She takes a good look at herself, "Uau..." She whispers, admiring Sara's work, "I almost don't recognize myself."

Sara laughs at that and tells her, "I'm flattered, but I can't take all the credit. Your eyes are already pretty, I just made them pop out."

"Still, you did an amazing job, thank you," Ava says, smiling shyly at her. She looks at the lip gloss on top of the desk, "Can I?" She asks grabbing it, and applies it on her lips after Sara nods at her.

Sara stares at her through the whole scene, her gaze fixed on her roommate's plump lips. When Ava's done she immediately adverts her gaze, afraid she might notice her staring.

"What do you think?" Ava asks her, a shy smile on her face.

"You look great! It looks like I will have some competition at this party," Sara says, earning a chuckle from the other girl.

"Well then, seeing as we're both ready I should text Zari to let her know she can come by!"

"Okay," Ava agrees, smiling. She gets up from the chair and goes to her backpack by the bed, taking a camera out of it.

"Wow! You weren't kidding when you said you were passionate about photography. That's a monster of a camera," Sara states, admiring the object on Ava's hands.

"Yeah, I saved up some money and bought it for my birthday. I was a bit tired of only using my smartphone, wanted to upgrade you know?"

"That's cool," Sara says, smiling genuinely. She observes Ava making her way to their bedroom window, bringing the camera to her eyelevel and adjusting the lens, her right index finger moving to press on the shutter button. She hears the camera making a few clicks, before Ava moves it away from her face and down to check the pictures she took. Sara finds herself mesmerized by the whole scene in front of her.

"Can I seem them?" Sara asks, moving to stand up next to Ava.

"Of course," Ava tells her. She's blushing a little, but her lips are turned into a soft smile.

She moves the camera closer to Sara and starts swiping the mix of photos she just took. Sara's face lights up at watching each picture, "I like this one better," she says in a low voice, her index finger pointing to the screen. Ava looks at the picture and then at Sara, "Yeah, me too."

Sara looks up at her, a bright smile on her face, "Hey! I have an idea..."

Ava eyes her with raised eyebrows, "Yes?"

"Why don't we take a picture together? You know, to celebrate the fact that we're going to our first University party! Besides, it would be a shame not to preserve all the work I had doing your makeup."

The taller girl rolls her eyes at that, "Fine! But only because you did a really great job."

"Yes!" Sara shouts happily, "Okay come here!" She says, hooking her right arm with Ava's left, who in turn lifts the camera up so it can capture both her faces.

After a number of clicks, they stop posing and check the pictures. In one of them Sara's sticking her tongue out and Ava has a goofy smile on her face while glancing at her.

"Oh I love this one!" Sara tells her immediately, "We look good, especially you. We should get it printed."

"Please... You look way better than me," Ava says, "But you're right, we have to get it printed."

Sara was about to say something but is interrupted by the sound of her smartphone, "That must be Zari!" She says, grabbing the device and unlocking it, "Yep, told you! She's downstairs waiting for us to go," Sara finishes, putting her phone away on her pocket and grabbing a leather jacket, "You ready?"

Ava suddenly feels her anxiety rising and starts to think about all the things that can go wrong. She feels herself stuck to the ground, not being able to move.

Sara seems to notice the shift in her mood and steps closer to her again, "Hey?" She asks, her voice soft, "It's okay Ava, I promise you'll have a great time!"

The taller blonde takes a deep breath before speaking, "Okay," she says, her anxiety now a bit lower, "Let's go," she nods, placing her camera on her bedside table and grabs a jacket as well as her phone.

Sara smiles softly at her and reaches for her phone to text an answer to Zari telling her they'll be right downstairs.

* * *

**AN:** I hope you liked it! Next Chapter, Party!

Anything you would like to say, you already know the drill. Just leave a comment! :)


	2. Chapter 2 - Party

**AN: Hey there! First of all a big thank you to everyone who read, left a review, subscribed and added this to their favourites. It means a lot to me!**

**Secondly, sorry I took so long to write and publish this chapter, but I got attacked by a big dose of writer's block. I hope it was worth the wait though.**

**Musically inspired by Billie Eilish and King Princess :)**

**P.S.: Sorry for any mistakes!**

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

Sara walks out of their dorm building with Ava trailing behind her. She smiles when she sees her best friend waiting for her.

"Hey Zari!" She says happily, giving her a quick hug. Zari smiles back at her, "Hey Lance!" She greets her, and then turns her attention to Ava who's now standing a bit awkwardly next to Sara, "And who are you?"

"This is my roommate, Ava!" Sara tells her, introducing both girls to each other, "Ava, this is my best friend Zari."

"Nice to meet you Ava, I'm sorry that you got stuck with Sara for a while," she says with a smirk on her face making the taller girl chuckle, "Likewise," Ava tells her extending her hand for the other girl to shake.

Sara punches her best friend playfully on the shoulder, "Hey! I'm not that bad you idiot."

"No, you just snore really loudly."

"Ah!" Sara looks at her with arms crossed across her chest, "I do not! Don't believe her Ava, she's just trying to mock me."

"I wish! Every time you sleep over at my house I have to kick you to shut you up."

"She's totally exaggerating!" Sara arguments, trying to defend herself while Ava just starts to laugh more, "Well I guess I'll have to wait and see. Thanks for the tip Zari, I'll be sure to keep some ear plugs around," Ava says, earning a laugh from the brunette and a scowl from Sara at the same time.

"Ahah! I already like you!" Zari tells Ava, throwing an arm around her shoulders, "Now let's get going ladies, we have a party to attend to!" She says excitedly, separating herself from Ava.

The taller blonde gets taken aback by the sudden physical contact from Zari, after all they are completely strangers to each other, but she eventually tells herself to relax and just enjoy the fact that she's meeting new people. She can't help but chuckle when she hears Sara say behind them with a playful voice, "Not fair, you just met and are already teaming up against me. I'm kinda hurt."

Zari simply sticks her tongue out at her best friend and laces her arm with Sara's after the smaller girl places herself between Ava and her as the three of them make their way to the party.

"So Ava, tell me about you," the brunette says, breaking the silence between them.

"Well, there's not much to tell. I'm from Fresno, California, and I'm majoring in Psychology."

"Psychology? So Sara wants to peel open people's bodies and you want to delve inside their minds," Zari says with an amused smile, "What an interesting pair of roommates."

Sara rolls her eyes half-heartedly and Ava smiles sheepishly at the girl's remark.

"You know Z, what you're majoring in isn't that different from ours if you really think about it. I mean, dissemble and reassemble computers, and also programming them to work the way you want them to? Kinda similar if you ask me."

"I have to agree with Sara on that," Ava admits, earning a beaming smile from her.

Zari smirks at both girls, "Now who's teaming up against whom?"

* * *

After a short walk they arrive in front of a house with an open door and a banner reading "_WELCOME HOME NEWBIES!_" where loud music can be heard from inside and young people can be seen drinking and chatting outside.

"Do you think this is the place?" Ava asks, turning to the other girls.

Zari has a smirk on her face, "I don't know, maybe we should check if all the other houses have banners too," she says, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Sara narrows her eyes at her best friend and then turns to Ava, softening her expression, "Don't mind her, she gets grumpy when she hasn't eaten for at least two hours prior," she tells the blonde girl, smacking Zari lightly on the back of her head at the same time. Ava chuckles at the whole scene, "No, she's right. I mean, it's pretty obvious this is it," she admits shyly.

"Let's go inside then ladies!" The brunette says, turning to enter the house, "I'm gonna go find the snacks, I'll see you inside!" She shouts, already disappearing through a group of people.

Sara turns to look at Ava, "You ready?" She asks, pointing to the house with her head.

Ava feels her anxiety getting the best of her again, telling her to run away, that there's still time to turn around and go back to her dorm and have an early night of sleep. A warm hand on hers brings her back to reality and when she looks at Sara her bright blue eyes are looking up at her with a determination she finds intriguing.

"Come on!" Her roommate tells her, tugging at her hand until they're both finally in the middle of the party. After a couple of minutes of looking, Sara finds Zari next to a table filled with drinks and all kinds of snacks.

"Ah! There you are!" Her best friend says when she spots her and Ava getting closer.

"Amaya!" Sara says excitedly, lunging forward to hug the girl standing besides Zari. Ava feels herself missing the comfort of Sara's hand and stands awkwardly looking at the ground until her roommate's voice catches her attention.

"Ava, this is my other best friend, Amaya," she says, introducing them both, "Ava is my roommate, we just met today," she explains to Amaya. The latter smiles and extends her right hand for Ava to take, "It's a pleasure meeting you Ava, welcome to the group!"

Ava shakes her hand, "Thank you," she says with a shy smile on her lips.

"Were you waiting for a long time babe?" Zari asks tucking a lock of hair behind Amaya's ear affectionately. The girl smiles sweetly at her, "Not at all, I just got here a few minutes before you," she tells the brunette, planting a chaste kiss on her lips.

Ava's eyes go wide with surprise at seeing the display of affection between both girls and she instinctively looks away, discomfort evident on her face.

"Hey Ava, are you okay?" She hears Sara ask her with a frown, "Maybe we should get you something to drink," she suggests, trying to cheer the blonde up.

"Yeah, sounds good," she says, giving Sara a small smile.

"Great!" Her roommate tells her back, moving to grab four cups so she can serve herself, her friends and Ava. They stand close to the table chatting and drinking for a few more minutes when Zari says, "Hey, it looks like the couch is finally available. Do you wanna go over there?" She asks turning to the others. Sara shakes her head and smirks at her, "You and Amaya go ahead and get yourselves comfortable," she says wiggling her eyebrows, "I'm not exactly in the mood to be the third wheel right now."

Zari gapes at her while Amaya just chuckles, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"And you call yourself my _best friend_!" Zari says, scoffing at her but by the smirk on her face Sara can tell she's just joking.

"Yeah, yeah, just go make out with your girlfriend will you?" Sara tells her, waving her off with a smirk on her face.

The couple does as told after that, leaving Ava and Sara alone. After a couple of minutes in silence Ava speaks, "So... Zari and Amaya are a couple?" She asks, trying not to stare at them.

"Yep!" Sara answers, a fond smile on her lips, "They've been dating for about a year now, started in high school."

"Oh, okay," the taller blonde says simply. Sara looks at her, a raised eyebrow on her face, "Why do you ask?"

Ava shrugs her shoulders at her, "No reason, I just had never met a lesbian couple."

Sara is now frowning at her, "Do you have a problem with it?" She asks with a sharp tone, immediately feeling the need to protect and defend her friends.

"What? No, of course not! It's just news to me, that's all."

Her roommate relaxes at hearing that, her voice now more even when she asks, "You're telling me that there weren't any gay or lesbian couples at your high school?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no."

"Sounds very boring," Sara says, earning a chuckle from Ava.

They stay in silence for a few more minutes until the freckled girl says, "Hey, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom really quickly okay?"

"Sure!"

"You don't have to wait for me though, it's okay to socialize with other people Ava," she tells the blonde, smiling at her.

"I think I'm good here," the girl says and Sara nods at her, making her way in search of the bathroom after that.

Ava takes her time to pay attention to her surroundings; she never thought she would be able to be at a college party and right on her very first day. There's a group of older students playing beer pong on a corner of the living room and she actually feels like trying it, but decides that it's best to leave it for another time; she doesn't feel confident enough to just go over there and ask to join the game. She then looks to her right where a group of girls is busy chatting amongst themselves while they chance a few glances to the boys playing the game, big smiles on their faces.

Ava frowns slightly at the sight, wondering why she never felt that way about a boy. Whenever her classmates were pinning about a guy, she simply never saw what was so special about him. She did long to have someone who would make her feel warm inside and have her heart skip a beat, but it simply didn't seem to happen. She felt like a weirdo because of it, she had come to the conclusion that something must be wrong with her, but she tried not to ponder too much about it and instead focused on more important things, like her studies. It's one of the many reasons she excelled so greatly at them.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a person getting closer to her.

"Hey there," the stranger greets, leaning on the wall next to her, "You must be new here right?"

She stares at the boy who is displaying a smug smirk on his face. He has short black hair and green eyes, and an athletic body as well. Ava wonders if this makes him look attractive to the other girls; it certainly isn't working for her. Despite that, she still greets him trying to be polite.

"Hey, I am yes," she tells him, sipping the rest of her beer and hoping for him to go away.

"Cool! What's your name?" He asks, now turning his body towards her, taking a sip of his drink as well.

"Ava," she simply says, not even looking at him. Her eyes scan the room in search of Zari and Amaya, but they are no longer on their previous place on the couch; she sighs at the realization.

"My name's Liam, Liam Snow," he tells her, extending his hand. Ava puts her best fake smile on her face and reluctantly shakes his hand, "Nice to meet you Liam."

Instead of letting go of her hand, he pulls it towards his lips and lays a kiss on it, "The pleasure is all mine Ava," he says, the same smug smirk once again on his lips, "What do you say we go somewhere quiet and get to know each other better?" He asks, starting to press his body against Ava's, trapping her between him and the wall.

Ava gulps nervously at the suggestion, feeling her heart start to pound on her chest violently and her stomach churn. He is about to pull her away to follow him when someone suddenly grabs her forearm gently.

"There you are babe!" She hears a known voice call and turns to its owner, a desperate cry for help written on her own face. She feels herself relax a bit when she sees Sara understands the situation right away and is immediately by her side, already pulling her towards her. Her roommate is looking up at her with bright eyes and a smile, but her expression quickly changes when she turns to the guy still holding Ava's hand.

He immediately drops it when he sees the glare Sara's throwing at him and the way both girls are now next to each other, "Is there a problem here?" She asks him, letting go of Ava's forearm to cross her arms in front of her chest.

Ava has to suppress a chuckle when he sees him cower and stutter, "No... Not at all, we were just having a nice chat, that's all."

"You sure?" Sara asks, taking a step forward putting herself between Ava and him, "Because my girlfriend doesn't seem to be enjoying herself."

Ava's eyes go wide at the word _girlfriend _but she tells herself that Sara is just trying to make Liam go away.

He holds is hand up in the air, "My bad, I didn't realize she was with you," he says, finally leaving them alone, although reluctantly.

After making sure that he won't bother them anymore, Sara turns to Ava once again, "Are you okay Aves?"

_There's the nickname again_, Ava thinks, although this time it doesn't annoy her, instead leaving a warm feeling inside of her chest.

"Yeah..." she says, cringing at her voice which is raspier than usual. She clears her throat, "Thanks for stepping in Sara," she tells her roommate.

"I wouldn't have been able to get rid of him if it weren't for you," she admits, scratching her neck nervously, "I completely froze on the spot," a blush is now on her cheeks and her eyes are fixed on the floor.

"Hey..." Sara says, her voice gentle, "Ava look at me," she asks, grabbing the blonde's hand tentatively. When she gets Ava to look up at her she continues, "Do not blame yourself for that guy's actions, it's not your fault that he doesn't know what personal boundaries are."

Ava's mouth opens slightly after hearing Sara's words, but she finds herself unable to come up with the right words. Because everything her mind can think about is the feeling of Sara's thumb gently rubbing small circles on her own hand and the way her blue eyes are shinning up at her with such worry and at the same time a fierceness she's not sure she has seen before.

She ends up mustering a quiet _okay_, earning a smile from Sara, "Good! And you know, if you want I can actually teach you some self-defence moves," she says, bending her arms to show her biceps to Ava, making the taller girl laugh.

"Yeah, sounds great Sara, thanks," she tells her, giving her a small smile but Sara can tell she's uncomfortable.

"Maybe it's best if we head back to the dorm," she proposes, waiting for Ava's reaction.

Ava feels relief wash over her but she tries to hide it, "Are you sure? It's still early, we could stay a bit more."

Sara sees right through her, "I want to Ava," she says, smiling kindly at her and Ava doesn't insist anymore. Instead she smiles back at her, "Let's go then."

The freckled girl looks around the room looking for her other friends but frowns when she can't find them.

"If you're looking for Zari and Amaya they disappeared from the couch a while ago, even before Liam had approached me," Ava tells Sara, who looks back at her, "Hm... They're probably keeping themselves busy somewhere. I'll just text both of them telling them that we decided to go home earlier."

When she's done with that, she turns to the other girl once again, "Ready to go?"

Ava nods and they make their way through the crowded living room until they're both out of the door.

They walk side by side for a few minutes in comfortable silence, enjoying the quiet of the campus after they are no longer close to the party house.

Sara eventually decides to speak, "I'm sorry your first college party sucked."

Ava shrugs and puts on a small smile, "That's okay, I'm sure there will be more parties to attend to."

"Yeah, but this was your first Ava, and that jerk had to go and ruin it."

"Sara, seriously, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you appeared at the right time."

"Me too Ava, me too."

Silence settles between them once more until they reach the dorm. When they get to their room, Ava excuses herself to the bathroom so she can change to her pyjamas in private while Sara takes the chance to open her laptop and choose something to watch on Netflix before going to bed.

After Ava's done from the bathroom, she looks up at her and smirks, "Cute kitties you've got there!"

"What?" Ava asks her, a puzzled look on her face.

"Your pyjamas," Sara tells her, pointing at what the blonde's wearing, "They're filled with faces of cats."

"Oh!" She looks down at her, feeling a bit self-conscious, "Yeah, I'm a cat person."

Sara gets up from the bed to make her way to the bathroom, "Why am I not surprised," she says smirking at her roommate over her shoulder before closing the door behind her. She takes her time cleaning her makeup and then takes a quick shower. When she's done she makes her way to the bedroom again and is surprised at seeing that Ava is still awake, apparently scrolling through her phone.

"I thought you would be asleep by now," she says, plopping down on her own bed. She grabs her laptop and places it on her lap.

"Can't sleep," Ava says, shrugging her shoulders. Sara looks at her for a moment, observing her attentively. Her roommate seems tense and she feels a pang of guilt wash over her; she knows that what happened at the party wasn't her fault, but she can't help to feel responsible because she was the one that insisted on Ava going with her.

"Do you wanna watch Rick and Morty with me?"

Ava looks at her, a puzzled expression on her face, "What's that?"

Sara looks at her surprised, "You've never heard of Rick and Morty before?"

Her roommate shakes her head at that and suddenly a grin takes over Sara's face. She gets up with her laptop on her hands and makes her way to Ava's bed.

"Okay, scoot over," she tells the taller girl, waiting for her to give her space so she can lie down next to her. When Ava moves to sit closer to the wall, Sara quickly makes herself comfortable on the spot beside her, placing the laptop on top of her legs.

"Okay so basically this is a cartoon show for adults inspired by the characters Doc and Marty from the movies _Back to the Future_!"

Ava chuckles at the excitement with which Sara's explaining it to her.

"I didn't know you were a fan of science-fiction."

"I like some stuff on that genre, but this show isn't exactly about that. It's more on the comedy side of things. It's hilarious as shit, you'll see," she happily tells her, finally pressing play so they can watch the pilot episode.

Ava tries to focus on the episode playing in front of her, but she catches herself not being able to pay full attention to it once she feels Sara's thigh pressing against hers. It turns out to be even harder to do it when after a couple of episodes her roommate ends up placing her head on top of her shoulder.

A few minutes have passed when she starts to feel Sara's breathing change and she realizes that the girl has fallen asleep. She looks down at her and can't help but smile at the way her mouth is slightly open and she's snoring softly.

Turns out that maybe Zari was indeed exaggerating about that particular detail.

She presses pause on the episode and turns off the laptop, placing it on the end of the bed carefully.

"Sara?" She whispers, trying to wake the girl up gently but she simply stirs in response. Ava sighs and ponders on what to do next. She feels her body asking to go to sleep, and she's aware that she probably won't get much of it if Sara ends up sleeping in her bed because it can barely fit two people. On the other hand, her roommate looks so peaceful that she really doesn't want to feel bad for waking her up.

Ava eventually decides to give in and ends up sleeping on her own bed with Sara by her side. She pulls the covers up to cover them both, lying down properly next to the smaller blonde. As soon as she does it, she feels Sara stretching and rest her arm on her belly, letting out a sigh while a smile can be seen on her lips.

Ava shakes her head slowly, "Unbelievable..." she whispers to herself.

When she finally falls asleep, she dreams of animated alien creatures chasing after her and a very specific pair of bright blue eyes.

* * *

**AN: Hope you enjoyed it! ****Until next time ;)**


	3. Chapter 3 - History of Medicine

**AN: Hey there! Once again thank you so much for all the support through your reviews, subscriptions and favourites, I deeply appreciate it.**

**Btw, I didn't actually go to Med school so all subjects and classes names will be invented by me.**

**I hope you enjoy this one, have fun reading :)**

**P.S.: Apologies for any mistake, but it's almost 2 AM over here and I'm tired. Good night to you all!**

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

Sara groans upon hearing the sound of her alarm; she opens her eyes slowly and adjusts to her surroundings. It feels strange waking up for the first time in a room that isn't hers.

"Wait..." she whispers, voice still hoarse with remnants of sleep, "This isn't my bed."

Then she finally remembers the previous night; she realizes that she might have fallen asleep while watching Netflix with Ava. Speaking of whom, where is she? Her roommate probably felt uncomfortable for having someone sleeping next to her and must have switched to Sara's bed. She curses herself for that and turns around seeing the other bed vacant, surprised when she sees clear signs of it not having been used during the night. Either that or Ava had made it before going to class.

Sara sighs and grabs her phone turning off the alarm. After checking the time she decides it's best to get up and get dressed for her first lecture. She really doesn't want to start the year off by turning up late.

After she's ready, she puts her phone on the pocket of her jacket and grabs her backpack, locking the door behind her when she leaves.

She walks for a few minutes searching for the lecture hall she's supposed to be in and smiles when she finds the plaque saying _"History of Medicine"_.

She looks around until she finds a vacant seat in the middle of the room, setting her backpack on the ground between her legs. She takes out a notebook and pen and starts to draw some doodles for fun while she waits for her teacher to arrive.

"Excuse me," she hears someone say. A tall boy with brown hair and a polite smile, "Is this seat taken?" He asks, pointing to the desk to her right.

"Nope, go ahead," she says, smiling back, turning her attention back to her doodling.

"Thanks!" He says, sitting down and taking out a notebook and pencil case. After a couple of minutes in silence he turns to her, "I'm Nate by the way," he introduces himself, extending his hand, "Nate Heywood."

She looks him up and down for a second, thinking to herself that he's actually good looking.

She shakes his hand back, "Nice to meet you Nate, I'm Sara," she tells him with her charming trademark smirk.

"Cool!" He immediately says, staring at her for what seems far too long.

"You can let go of my hand now Nate," Sara says, still smirking at him.

His eyes go wide when he realizes that he's still holding her hand. He immediately retracts it and straightens on his seat, turning his attention to the front of the classroom, "Right! Sorry!"

The blonde chuckles at the boy's behaviour and thinks to herself, _"the Lance charm never fails"_.

After a couple of minutes the teacher finally arrives. He introduces himself and starts the class.

Ten minutes go by until Sara leans towards Nate's seat, "Is it me or is this boring as hell?" She asks in a whisper.

The boy turns to her with a surprised face, "Boring?! Not at all. I love everything that has to do with History."

"Hm... I get that, but wouldn't you prefer to be learning actual things about the human body?"

"There will be plenty of time for that," he whispers back, afraid of being caught by the teacher even though he doesn't move his eyes away from him not even for one second.

Sara shrugs her shoulders and sighs, "I guess you're right," she ends up agreeing, turning her attention back to her notebook to at least write some bullet points down.

When the lecture is over, she packs her things and throws her backpack over her shoulders preparing to leave. But before she can do it Nate turns to her, "Hey Sara?"

"Yeah?" She asks, looking up at him. He seems a bit nervous, one hand scratching behind his neck, "Do you maybe, I don't know, wanna hang out sometime?" He asks, averting her eyes.

She smirks at him, thinking for a second before speaking, "Sure," she says and Nate's looks up at her with a smile on his face, "Really? Cool! Can I have your number then?"

"Of course," she says, "Just give me your phone and I'll type it in."

He nods and grabs it from his jeans pocket, unlocking it and handing it to her. When she's done she returns it back to him, a smirk on her face, "There you go."

"Thanks!" He says, a goofy grin on his face, "I'll see you around Sara."

Sara nods and starts to leave, but before she's out the door she looks over her shoulder and winks at him, "See you around, pretty boy," she says, leaving Nate without reaction at the sudden nickname.

After that, she checks her schedule and sees that her next class is only in the evening. She decides to go back to her dorm to leave her backpack there. When she arrives she notices that the door is now unlocked, contrary to how she left it. She knocks on it twice before she hears Ava telling her to come in. She sighs in relief at hearing the girl's voice.

"Hey!" She greets her with a smile while entering the room. She sits down on her bed and lays her jacket next to her, dropping her backpack on the floor.

"Hi!" Ava says, smiling at her. The taller blonde is sitting at the desk, going through some textbook. She looks up at Sara when she's done, "You know you don't have to knock right? It's your room too," she tells her, a smirk playing on her lips.

Sara rolls her eyes at her words, but a mischievous smile takes over her face and next thing Ava knows her roommate is right next to her, leaning over to whisper in her ear, "I just wanted to make sure you were proper before I came in," she says with the best husky voice she can muster.

Ava's eyes go wide and she swallows down hard, feeling heat running quickly from her core into her cheeks. She knows she must be red as a tomato and she hates it. To make matters worse, something unknown settles in her stomach, feels like a revolution down there and she can't come up with a plausible explanation as to why. She closes her eyes for a couple of seconds and tries to shake the feeling aside.

"Very funny Sara," she says with sarcasm in her voice. The smaller blonde chuckles and gets back to her bed.

Silence settles between them after that and even though Ava is glad that Sara isn't so close to her anymore, she still feels uncomfortable. She decides to start a conversation to distract herself, "So, how was your morning?"

Sara looks up from her phone and shrugs, "Had something called _"History of Medicine"_", she says with a funny voice, earning a small chuckle from Ava, "I take it you didn't like it very much."

The blonde sighs, "I just don't get the point! I'm here to learn about organs and how they work, I want to look at people's insides and figure out how to fix them, not spend time talking about which physician started it all and during which time period."

Ava scrunches up her nose at the image of open bodies settling in her brain and Sara laughs at her reaction. She finds it kind of cute.

"Don't worry, I promise not to open you up to take a peek," she says, winking at the taller blonde.

"Great! Otherwise I would have to tell my parents they were actually right on being afraid I might end up with a psychopath has my roommate," she states, earning a throaty laugh from Sara, "And I really don't want to give them the satisfaction."

"Hm... I don't think they would be very happy to be right about that particular thing though," Sara says and Ava laughs, "Yeah you're right."

"Anyways, enough about that. How was your morning?"

"It was nice, I had _"Introduction to Psychology"_. We didn't approach much yet, but it seems like it's going to be an interesting subject."

"More than mine I bet," Sara says with a bit of a defeated voice.

"Hey don't feel discouraged just because of one class you had. It's still the first day and I'm sure you'll have many more subjects you'll find interesting and look forward to. Besides, History can be kinda cool sometimes!"

"You sound a little bit like Nate," Sara says smiling.

"Nate?" Ava asks confused.

Her roommate nods, "Yep! He's a guy I met today. I told him I was bored during class and he said something similar to what you just said."

"Oh I see."

"He was actually nice and kinda pretty, I even gave him my number."

"Uau! Already?" Ava asks, a frown suddenly on her face.

Sara looks strangely at her, surprised by the blonde's reaction, "Yeah... What's the big deal? He asked if we could hang out sometime and I said yes."

"Well you said it yourself, you just met him," Ava pressures, surprising herself. She doesn't understand why she suddenly cares so much about who Sara hangs out with.

"Yeah and I want to get to know him better! Why do you care so much anyway?" She asks crossing her arms, "If I didn't know better I would say you are jealous."

Ava scoffs at that, "Jealous?! Why would I be jealous Sara?"

"You tell me."

The tall blonde goes silent, unable to come up with an answer. She doesn't know why she reacted the way she did, and the more she thinks about it the more she realizes that she did sound a bit jealous. Which in reality doesn't make any sense at all, why would she be jealous of Sara hanging out with some boy? Sara didn't owe her anything, in fact she and her had also just met. They were barely acquaintances let alone friends.

"I'm sorry," she finally says, breaking the awkward silence between them, "I don't know what came over me. The way I reacted was purely stupid."

Upon hearing that, Sara's stance relaxes and she uncrosses her arms, "You're right, it was."

Ava looks up at her with regret evident in her shiny green eyes and something tugs at Sara's chest, "But it's okay, apology accepted. Just don't do it again, I hate when people judge me about who I choose to spend time with. I had enough of that at home."

Her roommate opens her mouth slightly at that, but closes it quickly, "Okay, I won't," she simply says.

"Good," Sara says getting up from her bed, "Now, I'm gonna have lunch with Zari at a diner near by, do you wanna come?"

"Really?" She asks, surprised that her roommate would invite her after what she just did.

"Yeah," Sara says, smiling genuinely at her, "Unless you already had lunch?"

After the question they hear a low growl coming from Ava's stomach and the girl feels herself blushing all over again.

"I guess I just had my answer," the smaller blonde says, stifling a laugh. She then receives a text from Zari telling her she's almost at the diner.

"Okay Zari just texted me, we should go before she eats all the food available there."

Ava chuckles and grabs her bag and phone before following Sara outside.

* * *

Once they get to the restaurant they are invaded by the smell of fried food and coffee. The tall blonde sighs happily, her mouth already watering. Sara is busy looking around for Zari until she spots her seating on a booth by the window and a smirk takes over her face when she sees a big plate with a burger and fries in front of her friend.

She sits beside her and plants a kiss on her cheek, stealing a fry from her, "Of course you're already eating without waiting for us."

Ava sits down in front of both girls, placing her bag and jacket on the seat next to her. She can't help but smirk at the interaction between them.

"Hello to you too Sara!" Zari says with her usual sarcasm, "And who said you could steal my fries?" She asks, playfully swatting the blonde's hand away.

"That's what you get for being impolite," Sara retorts back, "You should have waited for us," she says motioning between Ava and her.

"Whatever," the brunette says, rolling her eyes with a smirk, "Just order your own food please so I can eat mine in peace," she asks, taking a sip of her strawberry lemonade.

"Fine," Sara says, dragging the word out. She goes over through the menu and hands it to Ava when she has decided what to order, "Oh thanks but I already know what I want," the girl tells her.

Sara nods and signals at a waitress, waiting for the young woman to reach their table. Once she gets there they place their orders.

"I will have a double cheeseburger with fries on the side and a coke please!" Sara says, smiling brightly at the woman, who then turns to Ava who says, "And I will have a tuna sandwich with a glass of lemonade please," the blonde asks with a polite smile.

"Coming right up sweeties!" The waitress tells them, making her way quickly to the counter.

"You ever been here before?" Zari asks Ava, cleaning her mouth with a napkin.

"Yep. I came here yesterday with my parents for breakfast before we went to the dorm."

"Ah okay, that's why you already knew what was on the menu," Sara concludes and Ava nods.

They stay in silence for a couple of minutes until the smaller blonde speaks again, turning to her friend, "How's Amaya? You seemed to be having fun at the party last night," she says with raised eyebrows and a smirk.

The brunette glares at her half-heartedly, "She's fine, thanks for asking," she answers, completely ignoring Sara's remark about the party.

"Why isn't she here then?"

"She only has classes in the afternoon so she took the chance to sleep in."

"Lucky her," Sara states.

In the meantime their food finally arrives and they start to dig into it.

"What about you ladies?" Zari asks in between bites of her burger.

Sara puts down her food and takes a sip of her drink, "What about us?"

"You left the party pretty early. I don't know about you Ava, but it isn't usual of Sara to do so. Did something happen?" Her friend asks with a bit of worry in her voice.

The blonde looks at Ava who's now gazing down at the plate in front of her. Sara recalls the night before and how relieved her roommate was when she appeared by her side before Liam could do God knows what. The thought itself makes her stomach churn and she swallows her food with a grimace. Even though this is her best friend asking, she still decides that what happened is something that should stay between Ava and her. It doesn't seem to her that Ava would be too happy if she shared it with Zari.

"Nothing happened Z, we were both just tired from the moving that's all," she says gulping down her drink, "Besides we had to get up early for class anyway."

Zari's eyes move from Sara to Ava, noticing that the girl in front of her is awfully quiet, but she also knows when not to pressure someone into conversation, so she decides to let go of the subject for now.

"Okay," she nods, "How were your classes by the way?"

"Boring."

"Interesting."

Both girls say at the same time, making Zari chuckle at that, "Seriously Sara? You just started and are already finding it boring? That's gotta be some kind of record time."

"Very funny Z," Sara shakes her head, "I was just expecting something different that's all."

"Yeah well I don't like all my classes as well but you just gotta push through it, don't you agree with me Ava?"

Ava was about to answer her when she feels her phone vibrate. She fishes it from her pocket and frowns when she sees the caller's name, "Sorry I have to take this," she tells both girls, getting up quickly to take the call outside.

"What do you think that was?" Zari asks her friend.

"No idea," Sara says shrugging her shoulders, "But it seemed important."

They continue to eat, talking between them about meaningless things and teasing one another like they usually do, until Ava returns to the table.

"Sorry about that," she apologizes sitting down, "I really had to answer it."

"No problem!" Sara tells her with a small smile and Zari nods in agreement.

Ava thanks them and gets back to finish her food. She tries to focus on the conversation going on between both girls in front of her but she finds herself unable to do so. Her mind is racing about another particular subject.

The tall blonde is suddenly pulled from her thoughts at hearing Zari's voice, "Hm?" She turns her attention back to the table, "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you had any more classes today," Zari tells her, frowning slightly, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she puts a forced smile on her face, "I was just thinking about some stuff," she says with a wave of her hand, "And to answer your question, I have only one more class today. At around 3 P.M." She informs her, glancing at her phone afterwards.

"Right..." the brunette says, "Would you like to come by my apartment after? We were thinking of watching some movies and having some popcorn."

"Who's we?" Ava asks with curiosity.

"Only Sara, Amaya and I. Call it a girl's night if you will."

"Sounds fun, I'm in!" The tall blonde tells her, a smile on her lips. Sara feels a smile making her way to her lips as well at seeing that her roommate seems to be perking up a bit.

"Do I have to bring anything?" Ava asks, "Drinks or snacks?"

"Nah, don't stress about it, we have plenty of that at home."

"Okay," the blonde smiles at her.

The three of them settle on finishing the rest of their meals. Once they are done, they ask for the check and pay their respective orders.

Sara and Ava part ways from Zari since they have to get back to their dorm, while the brunette decides to take the chance to tidy her house a bit before having her guests over.

Both blondes arrive at the dorm after a few minutes, since the diner is located close to the campus.

They hang their bags and jackets on the coat hanger by the door and Sara plops down on her bed while Ava sits on the chair at the desk, staring at the view outside the window.

"Ava," Sara says with a gentle voice that doesn't go unnoticed by the blonde. She turns her head to look at the smaller girl, "Yes?"

"I don't want to pry, but you seemed a bit off after you received the phone call."

When Ava doesn't say anything, Sara turns on her side so she can be face to face with her roommate, "Is everything alright? Did something bad happen?"

"Everything's fine, it was just my mom," Ava says in a rushed voice, turning her attention back to the window.

Sara is not convinced by her answer but decides not to bother her with more questions. She grabs her phone from her pocket and scrolls through the internet, entertaining herself with some videos of cute puppies.

"Thanks for not telling Zari by the way," Ava says after a while of being in silence, making Sara pause whatever video she was watching and return her attention to her.

"About what happened at the party I mean," her roommate adds, a grateful smile on her lips.

"It wasn't my place to tell, Ava," Sara states, smiling softly at her.

"Still, thanks for respecting that."

"Sure."

"I better get going now, don't wanna be late for my next class," Ava says, getting up and grabbing her backpack from where it's placed on the bed. Sara gets up and grabs her things as well, "Care for some company?" She asks.

"My next class isn't until 4 P.M. but I'm gonna take the chance to explore the campus, maybe check out the Library."

"Sounds great," Ava says, approaching the door, "At what time are we supposed to be at Zari's place?" She asks turning to Sara, who is busy locking the door behind them.

"Around seven I think, so we still got plenty of time to get ready after class, don't worry."

Ava nods at the information and makes her way through the hallway with Sara by her side. When they reach the place where her next class is gonna be, her roommate turns to her, "Do you want to give me your number?" Sara asks her, "In case something comes up and you need to contact me," the freckled girl adds.

"Yeah, sure," Ava says, telling her her number.

"Okay, I'm gonna text you so you can also save mine," she sends a quick message to her roommate, "There you go, all done," Sara says smiling up at her.

"Thanks! I'll see you later Sara," the taller blonde says, waving goodbye before entering her classroom.

"Later Aves!"

* * *

**AN: I hope you liked it! Reviews are always appreciated :)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Pizza and Elevators

**AN: Fair Warning: The phobia of riding an elevator is briefly mentioned, nothing bad happens to the characters so don't worry about it. I just wanted to let you know in case any of you doesn't feel comfortable with the theme.**

**With that said, thanks for all the support this work has been receiving, it means a lot.**

**This chapter is bigger than the last one therefore it has more fluffy Avalance interaction, so I hope you enjoy it! :)**

**Bands that inspired this: Snow Patrol and Coldplay.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

It was a warm afternoon and students could be seen all around the campus gardens. Some were busy with their noses deep in books, while others were chatting happily and simply lazing around the big oak trees planted through the university. Sara inhaled the fresh air and smiled to herself, even though she now had new responsibilities in her life, she felt free. She has always been a free spirit, but sometimes with all the trouble and drama that was going on with her family, she wasn't able to let go as much while at home. But now? Now she was glad that she had the possibility to go around without having to give satisfactions to someone else. Of course despite all that, she still misses the fact that the nights spent eating pizza and watch some funny silly show on TV with her dad and sister won't happen as often, but they can always do that over the weekends when they feel like it. Besides, now she can spend even more time with Zari and Amaya which is cool, so she's not totally alone.

She's pulled out of her thoughts when she hears someone call her name. She moves her right hand to cover her eyes from the sun so she can see better and smiles when she sees a familiar face waving at her from below a tree. She makes her way there and stops when she reaches the tree, standing in front of it.

"Hey there Nate," she greets him, "Mind if I sit down?"

"Not at all!" He says, smiling and blushing a little. He stares at her for a few seconds until someone next to him clears his throat.

"Who's your friend?" Sara asks, looking at the boy next to Nate.

"Oh, right!" He says a bit embarrassed, "This is my friend Ray!"

The boy with black hair extends his hand, "Hello Sara, it's a pleasure to meet you," he says with a polite smile.

She holds his hand and smiles back, "Nice to meet you too Ray," she says, sitting down in front of them.

"So, are you a fan of Medicine as well?" Sara asks him.

"I am actually, but it's not my favourite subject. I'm more of a Sciences guy."

"Yeah Ray is a fricking genius! I'm telling you Sara, we've been friends since we were little kids and I've never met someone as smart as him."

"Oh cool," she says, "I bet he's not smarter than my best friend though," she's now sporting a proud smile on her lips.

Both boys looks at each other with raised eyebrows and similar smirks when they turn to Sara again, "Well we should put that to a test then," Nate suggests.

"A friendly one of course," Ray adds.

Sara eyes them curiously for a while, before her face breaks into a smirk matching theirs, "Alright that can be arranged. I'm sure Zari will enjoy beating your ass."

Ray's face turns into one of surprise, "Wait Zari?! As in Zari Tomaz? She is your best friend?"

"Yeah... Do you know her?" Sara asks a bit suspicious.

"Well I don't know her that well, but we do share a programming class together and she's amazing at it. For what I've seen so far I believe she could do it even with her eyes closed."

"Yeah she's been coding ever since she was around 14 years old, give or take."

"That's impressive!"

"It really is," Sara says smiling, and then grabs her phone glancing at it, "Well boys, I'm afraid I have to get going. Still wanna hit the Library before I go to my next class."

"Okay Sara, see you around," Nate tells her and Ray waves her goodbye.

She gets up and after a few minutes of walking around, she finally finds the room she was looking for. She smiles at seeing various rows with several shelves filled with a countless number of books of all genres. Now this is a place where she won't mind get lost in from time to time.

She makes her way through a corridor that contains the novels section. To most people she puts on this façade of a girl who doesn't care about mushy feelings and happy endings, but the ones who truly know her have the knowledge that deep down she is a softy who loves romance and everything that comes with it. One time Zari even caught her shedding a few tears while watching the ending of a rom-com, not that she would ever admit it to be true. Her friend still teases her about it from time to time, but Sara knows that she's just messing with her. Besides, Zari is as soft as her, especially when she's around Amaya. They really do make a cute couple, sometimes Sara finds herself being jealous of them, wishing to have what they have. Most importantly, and even if the feeling is very rare, she believes that she deserves someone, like both her friends deserve each other.

She stops reflecting on it when she sees a book that catches her eyes, grabbing it carefully to remove it from its place on the shelf. She admires the beautiful cover made of leather with golden letters displaying the title and the author's name. She then turns it over so she can read the summary and reviews from different literally critiques.

It sounds like a great reading so she decides to go to the counter so she can borrow it for a few days. After the Librarian writes down her personal information and the information about the book, Sara thanks the lady and packs it carefully in her backpack, making her way to her class before she's late.

The class, unfortunately, goes by in a flash. On one hand it's a good thing because it means she's closer to the time when she's supposed to hang out at Zari's house with her friends, on the other hand, she was really enjoying the lecture about Cardiology. It was a lot more interesting that the lecture she had in the morning, oh and on top of that, the teacher is way hotter. After she's done writing down a few last notes on the subject, she's out of the door in a couple of minutes.

When she arrives back at her dorm, she notices that the door is unlocked which means Ava is already there. Which makes sense seeing that her roommate ended her class earlier. She opens the door without saying a word and closes it behind her.

"Hey Ava," she was about to say something more when suddenly her eyes land on a very naked girl leaving the bathroom. As soon as Ava sees her she lets out a yelp and goes running back to the bathroom, closing the door with a tiny bang behind her. The taller blonde feels her cheeks flush instantly.

"Sara! What the hell?!" She yells from the other side of the door, her voice coming out a bit muffled, "Don't you know how to knock? God!" To her ears, she sounds more embarrassed than angry which makes Sara chuckle.

"I'm sorry Ava, but how was I supposed to guess you were gonna be naked? I mean, you could at least be wearing a towel."

"I was about to grab it when you decided to suddenly appear. I didn't know you were gonna come home so soon, I must have lost track of time," the blonde says, her voice now a bit apologetic.

Sara moves more into the room, leaving her backpack on the floor and sitting on Ava's bed, having full front view to the bathroom door, "It's okay Ava, I mean, we're gonna live together here from now on. This was bound to happen sooner or later."

Ava can be heard cursing and after what seems like a couple of minutes she speaks again, "Could you hand me my towel? It's the white one inside the dresser."

"Sure!" The shorter blonde gets up and does as she's told. When she has it, she moves to the door and knocks gently. Ava slightly opens the door, leaving room for only her head to peek out.

"Here you go," Sara says with a soft smile, extending the towel to her. She revels in the way Ava looks; her cheeks are slightly red, probably due to having been under the shower for too much. There's still remnants of tiny droplets of water running from her forehead to her perfect brows and Sara has to stop herself from reaching out and wipe it away with her thumb. Instead she decides to stay focused on how breath-taking Ava is.

She doesn't know what kind of water the campus suffices, but it must have some kind of magical ingredient seeing as the blonde in front of her looks even more beautiful than she usually does, which by itself is already a sight to behold.

Ava grabs the towel and mouths her a quick _thank you_, closing the door right after.

Sara stands there for a while, trying to stop her mind from going into inappropriate thoughts about her roommate. Her probably, most definitely, _**straight**_ roommate.

She sighs and lets her body drop on her bed, stretching both her arms and legs. After a few minutes of Ava not being ready from the bathroom, she decides to get up and go through the closet, choosing an outfit to wear to their ladies' night at Zari's house.

When she's done with that, she knocks on the bathroom door, "Ava? Are you going to take much longer?"

After that, the girl opens the door and almost bumps into Sara, "Oops sorry! Didn't know you were right there," the tall blonde says smiling sheepishly.

"No problem Aves," Sara says, smiling up at her. She's suddenly aware that they are indeed very close and feels her own cheeks flush a bit, which is rather unusual of her. Sara Lance almost never blushes.

"Sara?" Ava asks; inviting, plump lips mere inches away from hers. Sara swallows down hard and tries to focus on her eyes instead, "Yeah?" She rasps out. She's not sure which is worse, getting transfixed in her roommate's full lips or lost in her eyes that seem to change colour as they please, now looking a dark shade of blue mixed with grey while they stare at her, almost boring into her soul.

"Could you maybe step away? From the door?" Ava finally asks, breaking Sara from her trance.

The freckled girl clears her throat and finally walks away, "Sorry!" She stands there awkwardly, looking at Ava while she goes around the room, sitting down at the desk and grabbing her phone. She then glances up at Sara, "Aren't you going to get ready? I remember you saying Zari doesn't like people being late," she states a bit awkwardly.

"Right," Sara nods and grabs her clothes, entering the bathroom. Once inside she hops in the tub for a quick shower, a bit on the cold side so she can rid herself of some thoughts. There's already enough steam going on in her mind.

Once she's done getting dressed, she pulls her slightly damp hair in a loose ponytail and walks out of the room.

"Here I am!" Sara says with a beaming smile, sitting down next to Ava who's currently laying stomach down on her bed going through something on her phone. Sara leans over a bit over the girl's shoulder to take a peek, but Ava moves quicker and in a matter of seconds is up with her phone locked and inside her pants' pocket.

"Did no one ever told that it's rude to look at other people's phones?" She asks with a frown that soon fades away once she sees the way Sara's pouting at her with big puppy eyes like a little child. She ends up chuckling and shaking her head with a smile gracing her lips.

"I saw you were on Instagram, I just wanted to look at your photographs."

Ava narrows her eyes at that, "Why?" She asks confused.

"Because you have a gift and I would very much like to appreciate it!"

"You only saw me photographing once Sara."

"Yeah and that was enough to know you're amazing at it, Ava," she says, mimicking the way the taller blonde had said her name.

The girl laughs at that, "Fine, I will show you my profile," she eventually agrees and Sara is already making her way to her when she holds up a finger to stop her, "But let's leave it to another time. Right now we have to get to Zari's."

"Yeah you're right, let's get moving."

They both grab their jackets and make their way out the door.

* * *

The blonde's reach Zari's house after a twenty minute walk. They could have gotten there quicker if they had wanted to, but they took the time to talk about their afternoon classes, enjoying each other's company.

Ava looks up at the tall building and feels a little taken aback by its height. The sound of Sara going up the building stairs and ringing a bell distract her a bit from that. They wait a couple of seconds for the door to open.

When it does, Sara pulls on it and holds it for Ava, "After you milady," she says with a failed British accent, taking a small bow.

Ava laughs at her and makes her way into the building, "Thank you very much," she says, returning the bow with one of her own.

"You didn't need to do that Aves," Sara speaks and Ava looks at her confused.

"I mean you're so freakishly tall, I don't want you to hurt your back out of politeness towards me," the shorter blonde says with a shit-eating grin and a glim in her eyes.

Ava looks at her with an offended look on her face, her green eyes wide and torn between surprise and disbelief, "How dare you?!" She asks in mocked anger, "Here I am being nice to you and that's what I get to hear?"

They approach the elevators and Sara presses the down button, waiting for the lift to arrive.

"Hey it's not my fault your parents made you so tall," she says, smirking while she waits for Ava's reaction to that.

"Eww! Sara! I really don't want to imagine that right now, thank you very much!" She says closing her eyes and making a gagging noise.

Her roommate starts laughing loudly, "It's also not my fault you just imagined them having sex," she lets out between giggles.

"Will you please stop Sara? God you're killing me!"

Their conversation gets interrupted by the sound of the lift arriving and the doors opening in front of them. Sara jumps inside playfully, waiting for Ava to follow in. When she doesn't, she looks at her with a puzzled look, "Ahm Ava? Aren't you coming?"

The taller blonde closes her eyes and takes a step back, "I'm kinda –" She's about to say something, but the movement of the doors starting to close interrupts her. Sara puts her left hand between the doors to keep them from closing.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I'm... God this is so stupid..." She says sighing, shaking her head and muttering to herself.

Sara frowns at her behaviour a bit worried, "Hey," she says, trying to get her attention, "Whatever it is, you can tell me," she says, hoping to be encouraging enough.

Ava looks up at her and slowly says, "I have an irrational fear of elevators. And tall buildings, like this one," she adds, pointing to the ceiling, "But mostly elevators, you know. Because there's a high chance they'll stop and then I'll get stuck for hours waiting for help to come, if it does, it might not... And then I will starve to death or, or, the cables supporting it will break and I will suffer a painful death and –"

"Ava..." Sara says gently, but the blonde doesn't seem to be listening to her anymore and keeps on rambling. She tries again with a firmer voice, "Ava!" She calls, and the girl finally stops, suddenly very aware of her behaviour.

"Sorry..." she says, her eyes stuck to the tiled ground beneath her feet.

Sara stays in silence for a few seconds, pondering on what to say, "You know, we could always take the stairs, it would be a great fitness workout," she says, and smirks to herself when she sees a hint of a smile on the corner of Ava's lips. She takes that as a good sign and continues, "But I'm not particularly inclined to go up seven flights of stairs right now. Besides, I believe that sometimes facing our fears can be a good thing."

Ava lifts her head at that and Sara can clearly see panic in her eyes, "Is there any way that I could make this slightly easier for you?"

"You could hold my hand and count with me... If that's okay?" Ava says in a rush, quickly regretting the words that left her mouth. She feels like a helpless little child and starts to prepare herself for Sara to make fun of her when she's instead surprisingly met with one simple word.

"Okay," Sara expresses it with such a genuine and soft smile that Ava can't have any other option but to trust her. So when her roommate extends her right hand, she takes it, even though she's shaking a little.

Sara immediately wraps it in hers and then says, "Right foot first, an old sign of good luck," she winks at her and smiles softly.

Ava eyes her strangely, but does as she's told. Once they are both inside, Sara turns to Ava and asks if she's ready. When she nods, the freckled girl presses the button that marks the 7th floor and waits for the doors to close. After the elevator starts to move, she feels Ava's grip on her hand tighten but she doesn't say anything. She decides it is best to let the blonde move at her own pace.

"Where did you learn it? The thing about the right foot," she asks, breaking the silence.

"Zari told me about it, it's an old tradition."

"Does it actually work?"

Sara shrugs her shoulders, pensive for a moment, "I don't know, maybe."

"Hm," Ava nods, closing her eyes. She loosens her tight grip on Sara's hand and when she does she feels the girl moving her thumb gently over her knuckles. The rhythmic movement settles down her frantic heart-beat and she starts to feel herself relax once more. She almost forgets the place she's in.

"Seven," she hears Sara state next to her. She looks at her confused, "What?" She asks, and when the elevator doors open her confusion only grows.

"We've reached Zari's floor Ava," Sara says, smiling up at her, "Are you gonna come or what?" She asks, tilting her head towards the hallway, and then tugging on her roommate's hand gently.

Ava nods and lets Sara lead her out the elevator, sighing when she finds herself out of the squared box.

"I didn't even hear you count... I myself wasn't counting."

"Really?" The smaller girl asked, a playful smirk on her lips, "Well I told you I would so I did. I guess you were just too distracted by other things to notice."

"No Sara, you don't realize..." She says, a full smile occupying her face, "This was the first time in years that I wasn't in panic through the whole ride!" Ava adds, grabbing Sara's shoulders excitedly, "I can't believe I just did that," she adds, letting go of her.

The smaller blonde stares at her for a while, not sure of what to say. All she knows is that it feels incredibly great to see her roommate so happy when she actually had a part to play in it.

"Well you definitely did Aves," she says, smiling proudly at her.

"Thank you Sara," the taller blonde thanks her, stepping a bit closer, "If it weren't for you, I would still be climbing up the stairs."

"Pfft, please! It was all you, I just encouraged you in the right way that's all," Sara states, gesturing at her.

Ava smiles shyly at what the smaller girl said, dropping her gaze down. A bit of her honey blonde hair falls and covers the left side of her face.

Sara tries to stop herself but ends up reaching out and tucking the loose strands of hair behind Ava's ear. The girl blushes even harder looking up at her and her tongue comes out of her slightly parted mouth to lick her bottom lip, which gets quickly stuck between a perfect set of teeth.

Sara can't help but wonder how is it possible to look so cute and sexy at the same time, and all she wants to do is move her thumb gently against her rosy lips or be the one to bite them. All it took was that single, innocent action from Ava and she is once again invaded by similar thoughts like the ones she had earlier when they were in their room. But bbefore she can do anything rash that she will certainly regret later, she steps back and clears her throat.

"We should probably go and knock on Zari's door," she says, turning and walking down the hallway, "I for one am in serious need of some popcorn and pizza. Aren't you?" She asks, looking back at Ava with a smile.

"Yeah, of course," the taller blonde nods, following her. Sara knocks on her friend's door and after a full minute Zari answers it, "Finally!" She says, opening it all the way, "What took you so long?!"

Ava was going to answer to that but Sara spoke first, "Chill out! We're not even late."

The shorter blonde says, entering the house and leaving her shoes and jacket by the entrance. Ava follows suit and does the same.

"Hey Zari, thanks for inviting me to your home," she says, looking around the brunette's apartment, "It's quite cosy," she adds with a smile.

"Thank you very much Ava, make yourself at home," Zari tells her, walking to the kitchen island.

Sara plops down on the couch in front of the television, the remote already in her hand ready to look for which movie to watch.

Ava stands there awkwardly for a bit until Zara says, "Do you want to help me put the popcorn on those bowls over there?" She asks, pointing to a shelf to her right.

"Sure," the blonde says with a smile.

"Hey what kind of movie do you wanna watch?"

"I don't know," Zari shrugs, "Maybe some horror?"

Sara perks up and turns around on the couch to look at her friend, "Oh! Have you already watched _"Us" _by Jordan Peele?"

Both girls say no at that and Sara gets even more excited, "Oh my gosh! We have to watch it! You're gonna love it, I promise!" She says, turning her attention to the TV once again.

Ava chuckles at her roommate's reaction and Zari eyes her with amusement, "So Ava, did you get a good night of sleep?"

"Hm?" The blonde looks at her confused, "I did... Why do you ask?"

The brunette has a smirk on her lips when she says, "You didn't wake up with the snoring monster over there?" She asks, pointing with her head in Sara's direction.

Before Ava can answer, Sara gets up from the couch and moves to stand next to Ava, "Hey!" She says to her friend, "I am not that bad."

Ava laughs at her and answers, "I slept pretty well actually. I did have weird dreams about the characters from the cartoon show we watched," she admits turning to Sara.

"What show?"

"Rick and Morty," Sara tells her with a smile, and then turns to Ava, "And I'm glad you slept well. I'm sorry you had to sleep in my bed though," she adds, apologizing.

The taller blonde looks at her confused, "What? I didn't."

Now Sara is the one looking confused," You didn't? But I thought... I mean, I ended up falling asleep on _**your **_bed so I thought you had moved to mine."

Ava blushes at her words, realizing what she had just confessed to the girl, "No... I..."

All the while Zari is trying very hard not to comment, limiting herself to smirking and watching their conversation, waiting for her friend's reaction when she realizes what Ava just implied.

And after a couple of seconds there it is, Sara's eyes are suddenly open wide, "Oh!" She lets out a nervous laugh, one that Zari is sure she has never heard coming out of her mouth. The brunette eyes her strangely.

"Are you okay Sara?" She asks, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Yep," she tells her, dropping her attention to the bowl in front of her, taking a handful of popcorn and shoving it into her mouth. She grabs the bowl and moves to the couch, sitting down and placing the popcorn on her lap.

"Are we watching the movie or what?" She asks after swallowing the snack.

Zari rolls her eyes half-heartedly, grabbing the bowl of chips in front of her and making her way to sit on the couch as well, "Let's go Ava, we better hurry up or miss grumpy over there might throw a tantrum," she says with a smirk, earning a laugh from the taller blonde.

"I heard that," Sara huffs, glaring at Zari when she sits down next to her, while Ava sits on her right, leaving her in the middle. Thankfully the couch is big enough so that the three girls can be comfortable without being squished into each other.

"Are you sure we shouldn't wait for Amaya?" Ava asks before Sara presses play.

"No need to, she warned me she would be a bit late today," Zari tells her, rechecking the time on her phone.

Sara nods at the information and starts the movie. They are fifteen minutes into it when the bell suddenly rings and Ava jumps at hearing it, letting out a tiny gasp while pressing a hand to her chest.

"That must be the pizza!" Zari says excited, getting up to the door to get it.

Sara takes the chance that she's alone with Ava and grabs her hand carefully, "You okay?" She asks concerned, after leaning closer to her. She brushes her thumb lightly on the blonde's knuckles like she did just minutes ago to offer her comfort.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just got scared that's all," she whispers, not wanting to draw attention to her. She squeezes Sara's hand as a thank you and let's go.

"If you don't wanna watch the movie that's fine, we can watch something else."

"No, no," Ava says, shaking her head, "The movie is fine, I got caught by surprise by the bell that's all."

"Ladies!" Zari calls in a singing voice, entering the living room once again. Sara leans back from Ava and returns to her previous position on the couch as soon as she hears her friend.

"Look what I got here!" The brunette says, her right hand holding two pizza boxes, "Hm... I love this smell," she adds, almost salivating.

"Zari, you say that about every food," Sara says, rolling her eyes with a smirk on her lips.

"Lance, just because of that you shouldn't have any pizza."

"For what?" She asks with mischief, "Telling the truth?"

The brunette glares at her, "Food is very important okay? It's the love of my life."

"I bet Amaya would be glad to hear that."

"For your information, she doesn't mind to be part of a trouple."

"Oh my God..." Sara says pinching the bridge of her nose in feigned annoyance while Ava giggles at their interaction.

Zari turns to the kitchen island and places the pizzas on top of it and then moves to grab the pizza cutter and some napkins.

"Sara can you give me a hand instead of being a pain in my ass please?"

"Well since you asked so nicely," she mutters, getting up, "What do you need?"

"The plates that are on the cabinet next to the fridge."

Her friend glares at her once again. Of course the plates had to be on a high place, one that Zari knows very well she can't reach. Regardless of that, she still tries to get them, stepping on her tippy-toes. When she realizes she can't, she starts to get frustrated, muttering to herself.

Then she feels someone standing next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder, "Do you want me to get it?" Ava asks with a soft smile, "Don't want you to hurt your back," she adds with a lifted eyebrow and a smirk.

Sara hears Zari snort in response, clearly paying attention to their chat but she decides to ignore it. She is busy gaping at her own previous words now thrown against her, "Cheeky."

Her face breaks into a knowing smile after that and she steps away, "Go right ahead," she says, gesturing at the cabinet with her hand.

After the plates are settled down on the kitchen island, Zari starts to split the slices of pizza between them, "There you go! If you want more after you're done don't be shy and help yourself Ava," she says with a smile aimed at the blonde.

"Hey what about me?" Sara asks with a pout making her roommate smile fondly at her cute expression.

"I already told you Lance, you make fun of my dedication to food, you don't deserve to be part of it," she says nonchalantly.

Sara's pout only grows and she is now sporting her big blue puppy eyes that remind Zari of a whiny husky. She rolls her eyes and eventually concedes, "Fine... Let's make a deal, behave and I'll let you have dessert," she says, sitting back down on the couch, taking a bite of her pepperoni slice.

The blonde's eyes lit up and she smiles, motioning for Ava to sit down on the cushion next to her.

Once they have all sat down, they press play again and keep watching the movie while eating their dinner.

* * *

**AN: Hope you enjoyed it! Comments are always appreciated so I can know if I'm doing a good enough of a job ;)**


	5. Chapter 5 - Caleb

**AN: First of all ****I want to thank a very special user and friend, Lnaccari, who has been helping me with grammar and logic issues so that certain aspects of the story make sense in comparison to real life. **

**Secondly, thank you to everyone who has been reading and leaving a review, and to everyone who has been adding this story to your favourites and alerts subscriptions. It means a lot and it helps me write :)**

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

It was around 8 P.M. when the three girls finished eating their dinner, followed by dessert. They had already gotten to the part of the movie where most of the action starts to happen. Sara was watching with an amused grin on her face even though she already knew how the story would unfold, while Zari had her mouth hanged open in surprise and shock. As for Ava, well, Ava was just trying to tell herself that it was all a work of fiction and that she shouldn't be that scared, but the truth was that every time some more violent or gory scene would start she would shut her eyes immediately or cover them with her right hand, while her other hand would end up gripping the blanket that was now covering her and the other girls, seeing as the weather at night had become slightly chiller.

The movie was about to get to a crucial scene when suddenly the doorbell rings for the second time that night.

Ava jumps at the sound and swears loud enough for Sara and Zari to hear. The brunette looks at her surprised and says, "Relax Ava, it's probably just Amaya," she adds smirking, getting up to answer the door.

The blonde feels her cheeks redden right away and hides herself a bit under the blanket in frustration, letting out a groan. Sara laughs at the whole scene beside her, grabbing the soft fabric and bringing it down so she can look Ava in the eye, "You literally jumped at the sound," she says with mirth.

The taller blonde glares at her for a few seconds before her face turns into a pout, "It's not my fault that movie is filled with jump scares," she whines, pointing at the TV.

Sara can't help but find the whole ordeal cute and laughs softly at her roommate, "You haven't even been watching most of it. Don't think I didn't see you cover your eyes," she says, teasing the other blonde.

Ava gapes at her and was about to retort when Zari returns to the living room with Amaya hand in hand.

"Hey girls," Amaya greets waving her hand, "Sorry if I scared you but I forgot my keys so I had no choice but to ring."

Sara smiles up at her, "Don't worry, it's not your fault Ava is apparently a scaredy-cat when it comes to horror."

The blonde scoffs at the remark, "Hey! I'm not! I was just too focused on the movie that's all," she ends up saying and it sounds farfetched even to her own ears.

"Sure," Zari adds with a smirk which earns her a light slap on the arm by her girlfriend. She mouths a quiet "what?" and Amaya simply shakes her head smiling. She makes her way over to the armchair next to the couch and sits down, sighing softly.

"It's good to finally be home," she says, motioning for Zari to sit on her lap which the brunette gladly does, circling her arms around her neck and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Welcome by the way, Ava," she adds, turning her attention to the blonde, "I hope these two have been treating you well, despite the teasing."

"Thanks Amaya, no complaints so far," she answers smiling, "So, you and Zari live here together?"

"We do yes, we decided we should get our own apartment when we were still in high school and we finally did it after we graduated."

"And your parents are okay with it?" Ava asks, a mix of surprise and curiosity.

Amaya turns her attention back to her girlfriend, who's looking at her with a serious expression on her face. They stare at each other for a couple of seconds before Zari nods slowly.

The girl turns to Ava once again, "Our families weren't exactly big fans of us dating each other, they even tried to keep us apart for a while," she says, tracing small patterns on her girlfriend's thigh to comfort her before she continues, "So we thought that once we got to college it would be good to get a place so we could be together everyday without having people telling us that what we're doing is wrong."

Zari looks down and her grip on her girlfriend tightens, which doesn't go unnoticed by Ava. She ponders for a while, at how it must feel to have someone telling you that love is wrong. It has got to feel awful and she suddenly feels a sadness inside her that she can't quite pinpoint where it is coming from, but she thinks it is probably due to empathy for the both girls.

She smiles at Amaya and says, "I'm sorry you had to go through that, but I'm glad that now you can be with one another just the way you always wanted to."

Zari looks up at her, surprised at the kind words from a girl who's practically a stranger to her, but her face quickly turns into a soft smile, "Thank you Ava," she says, and then turns to Sara, adding, "You got lucky with your roommate Lance, I hope you realize that."

Sara looks at Ava with a smile on her lips, "I do," she says softly, "But hey, Aves got lucky too."

"Aves? Already at nicknames?" The brunette asks and Amaya gives her a look that Zari knows translates to "shut up".

"Yeah..." Sara says, a bit unsure of herself, "I didn't think... I mean... Do you mind?" She asks suddenly a bit nervous, turning to Ava.

The taller blonde blushes but doesn't look away from her roommate's gaze, "No... I actually like the sound of it," she admits shyly, biting her bottom lip.

"Aw isn't that sweet?" Zari teases, earning another light smack from Amaya.

"Shut it Zari," Sara tells her, a faint blush on her cheeks while the brunette holds up her hands in surrender, a smirk on her lips.

"Can we just watch the rest of the movie?" The smaller blonde asks, pointing to the TV with the remote in her hand.

"Sure," Zari tells her, getting up from her girlfriend's lap, "We saved you some pizza babe," she tells her, "Pepperoni, your favourite."

"Thanks love," Amaya answers, smiling and leaning in for a light kiss on the brunette's lips before making her way to the kitchen.

"Do you wanna watch it with us Maya?" Sara asks her friend, turning around on the couch to look at her.

"I already watched it when it came out but sure, I don't mind watching it again with you girls," she tells her, grabbing the pizza and some water before making her way back to the armchair.

* * *

After the movie ended, they simply hung out talking about what they thought of it and the conversation eventually followed into other subjects like their classes, until they got to some childhood stories.

"And then I landed flat on my ass!" Sara finishes, talking about the time she miscalculated and instead of kicking a soccer ball she kicked the air and slipped, which made her fall hard on the ground. Ava was now laughing hard, she even wiped a few tears from her eyes, "Oh my Gosh Sara that must have hurt as hell!"

The smaller blonde shrugs her shoulders and waves it off with her right hand, "Nah, it wasn't that bad."

Zari scoffs at what her best friend just said, "Excuse me? You couldn't walk straight for at least two weeks and you even had a massive bruise to prove it," the brunette finishes chuckling.

Sara scowls at her slightly, "First of all, straight was never my style and we both know it," she states with a smug smirk, "And secondly, it wasn't that big of a bruise."

"No, it just covered both of your butt cheeks," Amaya adds with a knowing smile, earning herself a high five from her girlfriend and more laughter from Ava.

"I can't believe you two!" Sara scolds at her friends, shaking her head, "You're totally embarrassing me," she groans, covering her red face with both her hands.

Ava chuckles beside her, placing a hand gently on her roommate's shoulder, "Come on Sara, now we're even," she says, waiting for the girl to look at her. When she does she has a puzzled look on her face, "What do you mean?"

"Remember? When I told you about that time I kicked a ball right to my teammate's face?"

Sara's face turns into a smile at that and then she laughs at Amaya and Zari's reactions.

"You did what?!"

"How the hell did that happen?"

Ava shrugs and smiles sheepishly, "I'm just that bad at soccer, that's how."

"Hm, maybe you didn't have the right training Aves," Sara says affectionally and a blush makes its way to the taller blonde's cheeks.

"Are you offering to teach her Sara?" Zari asks her with amusement in her voice.

Sara looks at her and shrugs her shoulders, "Why not? I'm always up for anything that has to do with soccer," she says nonchalantly.

"No need to waste your time teaching me Sara, seriously, I'm really not cut out for that particular sport."

Her roommate stares at her for a while, a thoughtful expression on her face. She eventually decides not to pressure the matter anymore.

"Alright, but you still have to come and watch a game of ours," she tells Ava. She then grabs her phone from her pocket to check the time.

"We should probably go," she suggests looking back at the blonde, "It's getting late and I have classes in the morning. What do you say Ava?"

The girl nods, "Yeah I'm kinda tired to be honest," she answers, looking up to Zari and Amaya apologetically, "Not that I'm not enjoying hanging out with you girls."

Amaya smiles softly at her, "Don't worry about that Ava, we understand," she says, trying to leave the girl at ease, "You are welcome here anytime."

After that both blondes say their goodbyes and walk out the door. A couple of steps through the building hallway and they find themselves in front of the elevator once again.

Sara turns her head to look at Ava, "You okay?" She asks, tilting her head to the metal doors. Ava gives her a small smile, "Yeah," she nods, "I think it will be easier now."

A big, genuine smile makes its way to Sara's face, "Great," she tells her, pressing the lift button, "I can still hold your hand if you want me to," she adds.

Ava seems to consider it for a while, her eyes locked to Sara's bright blues. She likes the fact that all she sees in them at that moment is genuine concern. She eventually nods her head, "Maybe it's for the best... Just to be sure you know?" She adds, biting her bottom lip and casting her gaze down.

They hear the ping of the elevator signalling its arrival and Sara takes Ava's hand in hers. She tugs once again on it, "Let's go then," she tells her softly and her roommate follows immediately after her, this time feeling way more confident and safer than the first time.

When they are inside and the elevator starts to move down, Ava looks at her and whispers a small thank you, squeezing Sara's warm and comforting hand.

"You're welcome Aves," the smaller blonde says back and Ava feels her chest flutter at the fondness in the way that Sara says the nickname.

"You know," she starts, pausing to gather some more courage that night, "I believe no one ever called me by that before," she admits, and her heart is suddenly beating faster.

Sara snaps her head at her, a puzzled look on her face, "What?! Aves? Not even your family?" She asks surprised.

Ava nods quickly, turning to look back at her, "Mhm-hm..." she mutters, her cheeks getting warm, "They have called me other things, but never Aves."

"Oh, I see," Sara answers, going silent for a couple of seconds before saying, "Do you really don't mind it though? Me calling you that... Because if it bothers you I totally understand and I'll stop it right away," she says, her voice coming out in a rush.

"Not at all..." Ava confesses and the freckled girl can tell she is being honest, "Like I said back at Zari and Amaya's house, I like it," the taller blonde adds, feeling a blush make its way to her face. The realization of it makes her blush even harder and she moves her eyes away from Sara's.

"Okay then, Aves it is," Sara states, a happy smile in her lips, "Don't mind about what Zari said by the way, she is always teasing everyone; especially people she likes."

Upon hearing that, Ava moves her head up to look at Sara again, "Do you really think she likes me? She doesn't even know me that well, not even you know me that well yet."

"Of course she does!"

The taller blonde smiles sheepishly at hearing her roommate's words, but she's still not totally convinced, "How can you be so sure?"

"Because she invited you along tonight. Trust me, I've known her for years and it's not everyone that gets to hang out at her house. Besides, she's a very good judge of character."

Ava nods at that and both girls don't say anything more until the rest of the ride.

* * *

Once they get to their dorm room, they let their things by the door, change quickly into their pyjamas, take turns using the bathroom and then finally lay down on their respective beds, each one turning the lights off on their bedside tables.

They both lay on their sides, facing one another. Sara already has her eyes closed and is almost falling asleep when she hears Ava's voice directed to her.

"Sara? You still awake?" The blonde whispers.

"Yeah," Sara whispers back, her voice clearly laced with sleep, "You okay?"

Ava nods even though her roommate can't see her in the dark.

After a couple of seconds the taller blonde speaks again, "I just wanted to thank you."

Sara awakens a bit at hearing the girl's sudden words and opens her eyes, her face one of surprise, "What for?"

Ava shrugs her shoulders, "For... For making all of this easier."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, starting college, having to call this dorm room my new home."

Now it's Sara's turn to shrug, "I get it, change is never easy. No need to thank me though, I'm just fulfilling my duty as a roommate," she teases, earning a chuckle from Ava."

A shy smile makes its way to the taller blonde's face, "We both know there's no such thing, you are in no obligation to be nice to me."

"I know, I was just messing with you. The truth is, why not help each other out right? College is already hard enough on its own and I always told myself that once I got here I would be nice to whomever I got paired up with as my roommate. With that said, you can rely on me anytime Aves."

"That actually makes a lot of sense," Ava answers, smiling softly, "Thank you Sara... And I'm here for you as well."

"Good to know," her roommate says, smirking, "Now if you don't mind, I really need my beauty sleep. This face just doesn't happen on its own," she adds, earning a small chuckle from Ava.

* * *

Ava wakes up in the morning to an annoying sound that she realizes can only be an alarm going off. She grabs her sheets and covers her head, trying to muffle out the sound, "Sara!" She calls from under the sheets, "Can you turn that thing off?!"

A couple of seconds later and the room is once again quiet, making Ava sigh happily at that, "Thanks," she mumbles, her voice thick with sleep.

She hears the other girl laugh softly and walk around the room, "Sorry, I have a class in an hour and a half. I thought you had to get up as well," she says, trying to keep her voice as low and as soft as possible to not disturb Ava. She gets a muffled nope in response from the girl's bed.

"Lucky you," she whispers, sighing before walking to the bathroom to get ready for the day. It takes her about thirty minutes between showering, brushing her teeth, dressing and arranging her hair before she's back into the room. She steps closer to Ava's bed to let her know she is leaving when she glances at the girl's phone on top of her bedside table and notices the screen lighting up.

"Ava," she says, trying to get her attention. When she gets only a grunt in response, she decides to insist. She places her left hand on the blonde's shoulder and shakes gently, "Come on sleepyhead, someone is trying to call you on your phone. You should probably get it."

After hearing that, Ava reluctantly gets out from under the sheets and grabs her phone to check who the caller might be. She sits up and runs a hand through her hair, frowning upon seeing the name. She slides to unlock her screen and presses the call button. While she waits for the other person to pick up Sara takes the chance to speak, "I'm just gonna go now, I'll see you later okay?"

Ava covers the phone with her left hand and moves it slightly away from her ear to answer her roommate, "Yeah, have a good day Sara," she tells her softly, her voice still a bit raspier than usual due to sleep, which earns her a small smile from the blonde who's out the door in a couple of seconds, not wanting to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Once Sara is gone Ava presses the phone back to her ear and in a matter of seconds the other person picks it up.

"_Oh Ava, sweetie, thank God you called."_

"Mom, you called me, remember?" Ava says, the frown back to her face, "Is something wrong?"

She hears her mother sigh from the other side of the line, _"I'm sorry to be bothering you this early in the morning, but it's just..."_

"Mom, can you just spit it out please? You're scaring me..."

She hears some noises and her mother talking to someone else, even though she can't figure out what she's saying. After a minute her mother turns to her again.

"_It's Caleb, honey, he's having one of those days and I didn't know what else to do but to call you. You always know the right thing to say."_

Ava tugs on her bottom lip, exhaling to prepare herself before making her decision, "Okay mom, you can put him on."

She hears some rustling before a boy's voice greets her, _"Ava!"_

"Hey buddy," she greets back, a soft smile tugging at her lips, "What's going on?"

"_Mom says I have to go to school but I don't want to..."_

Ava sighs upon hearing the child's voice. She ponders for a couple of seconds on what to say.

"Caleb... We've talked about this before, you know it's important to go to school so you can learn new things."

"_I know that Ava... But I don't wanna go if you're not here. I want you to take me to school like you used to do!"_

Ava's free hand goes up to the bridge of her nose and she pinches it softly, trying to manage the stress she's starting to feel taking over her.

"Buddy, you knew things would be different once I started college. We talked about this, mom is going to be the one to take you to school from now on."

After the words leave her mouth, she can already imagine the boy's face turning into a pout and when he speaks again, her suspicions are unfortunately right.

"_But it isn't the same thing Ava!"_ She hears him whine, _"It has to be you!"_

"Caleb, come on, you know you can do it honey," she tells him, trying her best to be encouraging, "Remember what we talked about before I left? I told you that the fact that you were able to go to school was all thanks to you. Because you are strong and brave! I was just there to keep you some company."

There's a pause on the other end of the line, and Ava tugs on her bottom lip, trying to keep her anxiety at bay.

"_Do you really think I'm strong and brave?"_

A smile breaks on Ava's face before she speaks, "Absolutely! In fact, I'm going to let you in on a little secret; you are the strongest and the bravest person I know."

The little boy laughs on the other side, _"No way, you are, Ava!"_

"Nah-ahn! Not a chance! You totally outrank me."

Caleb chuckles at that but when he speaks again is voice is a bit more serious, _"I still miss you..."_

Ava swallows the lump forming in her throat before answering her little brother, "I miss you too buddy... I'll tell you what, let's make a deal! If you want to, you can call me everyday after school is over."

"_But what if you're busy? Or what if you don't wanna pick up and talk to me?"_

"Caleb...I always wanna talk to you, I promise. You're my little brother, I love you."

_"But you still might be busy..."_

"Listen, if I can't pick up the phone right away, I will send a text letting you know. Deal?"

"_Deal!"_ The boy answers and there's silence between them after that, where Ava can only hear some rustling and then a female voice in the background.

"_I have to hand back the phone to mom now... But we will talk later right Ava?"_

"Of course buddy, have a good day!"

"_Thanks, you too! Bye now..."_ She hears her brother say and then her mother is back on the phone with her, _"Hey sweetie! Thank you so much for talking to Caleb, I knew you could help."_

"Mom you don't have to thank me he's my little brother, you know I'm always here for him."

"_I know honey, you're such a great sister."_

"Well he's a great brother," Ava says shrugging her shoulders instinctively as if her mother were able to see it, "Anyway, you should probably hurry up and take him to school, you know how he feels when he's late for something."

She hears her mother chuckle softly at that, _"Yes, well, he definitely takes after you!"_

"Mom..."

_"I can't wait for the weekend honey, so you can tell us how your first week is going. I'm sure you have a lot to tell us. Have a good day Ava!"_

"Thanks mom, you too! And say hello to dad for me!"

"_I will sweetheart, don't worry. Take care."_

Once the call is over, the blonde clutches her phone to her chest, a bittersweet smile on her face. She thinks of the mornings where she and her brother would walk together to school. How he would excitedly tell her all about the classes he would have that particular day and with each classmates he was starting to get along better. Thinks about how her brother improved so much, from a shy kid who barely talked to anyone to someone who has now at least a couple of close friends. She knows that if this was a few years ago, Caleb would have ended up skipping school due to being too afraid of going without Ava being by his side. She still can't help but feeling a bit guilty for not being as present in his life as before, but it was inevitable. They both knew things were going to change once Ava got to college; it's nobody's fault, and that's what she tries to tell herself from time to time, even if sometimes it's hard to convince herself about it.

After a couple of minutes she decides to stop dwelling on the matter, feeling a headache coming her way. She checks the time on her phone and sees that it's still too early for her to get up so she chooses to sleep a few more hours before having to get ready for her 1 P.M. class. She falls asleep quickly, tiredness taking its toll over her mind and body.

* * *

**AN: I hope you enjoyed it! I'm already working on the next chapter, so it will probably be posted soon :)**


	6. Chapter 6 - New Friends

**AN: Hey there! I wanna thank the user PurpleCanary08 for always leaving a kind comment and for adding this story to their favourites. It means a lot to me! I also wanna thank the users rosali sobreira, LylianLove and 4455wp for having left a comment on the last chapters and for adding it to their favourites. Your support is very much appreciated!**

**And last but not least, huge thanks to my great friend Lnaccari for being my biggest supprt throughout this journey :)**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

She wakes up a few hours after to the faint sound of someone opening and closing the door to the dorm room.

"Hey," she hears a cheerful voice say, Sara's, "Did you sleep well?" The girl asks, standing next to her bed looking down at her. Ava sits up and rubs her eyes, trying to get rid of the remnants of sleep, "Not enough," she answers, her voice coming out in a rasp. She swallows and grimaces when it hurts to do so.

"Are you okay?" Sara asks with a frown on her face, "You're looking a little flushed."

"I'm fi-" she tries to say but a coughing fit interrupts her. Sara is immediately sitting by her side, rubbing her hand gently up and down her back, "Careful, you're definitely not fine," the smaller blonde says, moving her free hand to Ava's forehead, "Yeah, you're burning up," she lets her know with a sigh.

"What time is it?" Ava asks with wide eyes, completely ignoring Sara's words. The smaller blonde grabs her phone from her pocket to check the hours.

"Half past one."

Ava groans at hearing it, "Damnit, I'm so late. I can't believe I slept in."

"Ava, that doesn't matter right now. You're not going anywhere like that, you need to rest."

The taller blonde shakes her head, "I can't skip class Sara! I need to get up and get ready. Could you step away please?" She asks her roommate, moving the sheets covering her body away once she has space to move. She tries to get up but as soon as she stands she feels dizzy and Sara ends up catching her in her arms, "It's okay Aves, I've got you," she says softly, helping her sit back down on the bed.

"Have you eaten anything at all today?" She asks, concern evident in her face.

Ava blushes at the question, a feeling of shame settling in her as if she is waiting some kind of reprehension following, "Not really," she whispers, moving her gaze away from Sara.

Sara shakes her head, sighing, "Right now your body is probably trying to fight a cold. You need to eat properly so you can start recovering," she tells her with a firm voice, trying to make her point come across.

When her roommate still doesn't look at her, she decides to insist. She gently touches the girl's left cheek with the back of her right hand, grimacing when she feels how hot her skin is under her own, "Aves, can you look at me please?"

Ava does as she is told and is rewarded with a soft smile from Sara, "I'm going to go downstairs to get you a soup so you can take some medicine after. Do you like chicken?"

The taller blonde nods and Sara continues, "Good! In the meantime simply lay down and try to rest. I won't be gone long," the freckled girl says, stepping away from Ava so she can grab her wallet and phone, "If you need something don't hesitate to call me."

"Okay," Ava says, giving her a small smile, "Thanks Sara," she adds before laying down on her bed and pulling the sheets over her body to get a bit of comfort.

Sara smiles back at her before she's out the door. Once she gets to the cafeteria, she orders a chicken soup to go and hands the lady behind the counter her student ID. When the order is processed, she is given her food in a bag and makes her way back to the dorm.

A few minutes pass until she arrives in front of their shared room. She grabs the knob and turns it to the left to open the door.

"I'm back!" She greets cheerfully after entering the room and closing the door behind her, "Here's your warm, delicious soup," she adds, placing it on top of the desk. She notices Ava stir under the sheets, a soft grunt escaping her lips before she says in a whiny and slurred voice, "Not hungry..."

Sara chuckles at her, finding it sort of adorable, "Come on Aves, you need to eat something," she says trying to convince the girl. She sits beside her, placing her right hand on the blonde's forehead and her left hand against her own head, comparing their temperatures.

"You're still very warm," she mutters with a frown, "You have to take some medicine and you can't do that on an empty stomach."

Ava turns her back on Sara and mumbles, "Just let me be Sara, please."

"Did anyone ever tell you that you get grumpy when you're sick?"

Her roommate scoffs at that, turning her body to face Sara again, "I'm not grumpy," she says preparing to defend herself but stops when she sees the smirk on the other girl's face, "You're such a tease," she simply adds, going to cover her face with the sheets but Sara stops her before she has the chance to do it, "Just humor me will you? I can help feeding you if you want to."

Ava frowns at her, an offended look on her face. She sits up quickly, resting against the headboard, "I'm not a baby Sara! I can feed myself," she says, crossing her arms against her chest.

Sara raises her eyebrows at her, "Alright miss grown up, suit yourself. I have some notes to go through anyway," she says, moving to grab her backpack so she can take her notebook out.

An awkward silence falls between them, the only sound in the room being of Sara setting her things on top of the desk and starting to flip some pages.

After about five minutes Ava begins to regret the way she talked to her roommate; after all the girl was just trying to help.

"I'm sorry," Ava eventually says, waiting for any kind of signal that Sara heard her. When she doesn't get an answer, she tries again, "Sara..." she calls and this time the girl stops looking down at her notebook and her ocean blue eyes are looking straight at her, her face stoic.

Ava gets taken aback for a couple of seconds. She moves her attention to her hands that are resting on her lap, fidgeting with her fingers nervously, "I'm sorry I talked to you like that. I was rude and you were just trying to help. It's just..." She doesn't finish what she was about to say, once again feeling the need to cough.

Sara slowly gets up and sits by her side. She repeats what she had done earlier, trying to give Ava some comfort by rubbing her hand on the girl's back gently.

"Go on..." Sara encourages, waiting for her to finish what she was saying.

Ava sighs, running her hand through her blonde hair. One of the many nervous habits she has caught over the years, "I hate being sick, I hate feeling vulnerable and I hate that I had to skip class," she admits with a small pout, "And you're right, I do get grumpy… Which is obviously not your fault. It's just the way I get whenever I feel like this."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, Zari gets way grumpier than you," Sara tells her with a smirk on her face.

"She does?" Ava asks with a hint of a smile that replaces her pout, leaving Sara missing it for a few seconds before she tries to convince herself that the girl's pout was anything but adorable.

"Yep. Which means that I'm pretty much used to it, even though it still sucks to sometimes be sort of a punching bag," the smaller blonde admits, shrugging her shoulders.

"I'm really sorry Sara..." Ava says, regret evident in her face.

Sara nods, a soft smile tugging at her lips, "I know, don't stress about it anymore. Now," she says, getting up and reaching for the bag on top of the desk, taking the bowl and a spoon out, along with a napkin, "You should really eat the soup before it gets cold," she continues, moving next to Ava again to hand it to her, "There you go. Bon appetite!"

"Thanks," the taller blonde says, a small smile on her face. She takes a full spoon to her mouth and swallows the tasty soup, a welcome warmth settling in her stomach. She moans at the feeling capturing Sara's attention; the smaller blonde feels something waking up in her lower belly but immediately tries to get rid of it reminding herself that Ava, straight Ava, is off limits. She decides to get back on focusing on her notes before she drives herself crazy.

Once Ava has finished eating everything, Sara moves to take the bowl from her hands and place it on the desk, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. I'm just going to grab some medicine for you," she says, making her way to the bathroom. She comes back into the room with a pill on her hand and a glass of water on the other, "Here you go," she tells Ava, handing it to her.

The blonde takes the pill and gulps it down with the water in one go, cleaning her mouth on the back of her hand after, "Thanks Sara," she says, placing the glass on her bedside table.

"No problem. Now tell me, do you need to go to the nurse's office?"

"Hm... I don't know, maybe it's best if I stay here resting? At least for today?"

"Yeah, sure. But tell me if you end up changing your mind and I'll take you there."

Ava frowns slightly, "You don't need to go with me, I don't wanna give you any more trouble."

"Aves, come on, there's no way I would let you go alone in the state that you are."

The taller blonde understands that there is no use in talking Sara out of it so she doesn't argue about it any longer.

"Okay," she nods, "How was your day by the way?" She asks instead, looking up at her roommate. Sara's face lights up and a bright smile appears on it. She drags the chair by the desk and places it next to Ava's bed, sitting down on it.

"It was awesome! We learned about the Skeletal System and some of the fractures that might happen to certain bones. Then we also talked about the diseases associated with said system."

Ava smiles fondly at her, "You really like medicine don't you?"

"Of course I do! It's just so interesting to get to know how everything inside of us works. All the connections and the communications that allow our bodies to function properly. It's amazing!"

Her roommate chuckles at that, "I'm glad you're enjoying it, I was kinda afraid you might start to get discouraged after that first History class of yours."

Sara shrugs her shoulders, "I was too, to be honest. But you and Zari were right, it was only my first day here. I shouldn't let it set the mood for the rest of the year."

"I agree... Hey, do you think that it's too bad? The fact that I missed some classes today?" Ava asks, a mixture of fear and shame on her face, which doesn't go unnoticed by Sara. The smaller blonde waves it off with her hand, "Nah, don't worry about it. It was just one single day," she smiles reassuringly, "Besides you can always send an email to your teachers or colleagues asking for some notes on the classes' subjects."

"You really think so?" Ava asks, a flick of hope shimmering in her bright green eyes.

"Of course!" Sara says, trying to sound encouraging enough. She notices that Ava's cheeks are getting less red now, which she assumes is a good sign that her roommate might be recovering, "Hey, you're not looking so flushed anymore."

"Yeah?" Ava says, pressing her own hands to her cheeks, "I still feel warm though..."

"Let me check your temperature again," Sara says before pressing her lips against the girl's forehead, "Hm... Still a bit warm but you're not burning up like when you woke up, which is a good thing," she lets her know, leaning back to look at the blonde's face who is once again red all over her face, "Wow, you are blushing really hard. Are you feeling okay? Maybe we should head downstairs to the nurse's…"

Ava barely registers what Sara is saying, her brain solely focused on the lingering feeling of the other girl's lips against her skin. She associates it with her fever and the fact that she is a very shy person who's not really used to too much physical contact, even with her family and friends. So it makes perfect sense to blush from the close interaction with Sara, especially seeing as they've only known each other for a few days.

However, something in the back of her mind tells her that that's not the only reason, but she can't quite decipher it. Sara's voice calling her name breaks her out of her thoughts.

"Ava? Are you okay?"

"What?" She asks, clearing her throat, "Yes, yes, I'm okay…Is it hot in here?"

Sara looks at her strangely, "I mean, you do have a fever so it's perfectly normal to be feeling like that. Are you sure you don't want me to take you to see the nurse?"

Ava shakes her head, "No… I don't really feel like getting up and getting dressed. I just wanna stay in bed and rest, is that okay?"

Sara nods and smiles softly at her, "The patient gets what the patient needs!" The smaller blonde says, earning a light chuckle from Ava, "Just give it a few minutes for that pill to start working its magic alright?"

"Okay… I'm gonna try to sleep for a little while," Ava tells her timidly.

"Get all the rest you need. I'll be right here by your side studying."

Fifteen minutes had passed when Sara notices that her roommate is definitely asleep, the soft snoring coming from her mouth a dead giveaway. She chuckles slightly at the vision next to her before getting back to her studying. After a while her phone vibrates against the desk surface and she picks it up, sliding her finger on the screen to unlock it when she sees it's a message from her sister.

_**Laurel 3: Hey Sara! How's it going little sis?**_

She types out a reply.

_**Sara: Hey **__** So far so good. You?**_

_**Laurel 3: Too much work already, bleh…**_

_**Sara: Laurel Lance, complaining about school?! I'm shocked XD**_

_**Laurel 3: You talk as if my life only revolves around it -.-**_

_**Sara: Well you were the one who wouldn't shut up about college during your first and second years. Always gloating about it.**_

_**Laurel 3: Yeah well, the beginning of those was easier x) Can I call you right now or are you too busy?**_

Instead of texting back, Sara closes the conversation and goes to the contacts pressing down on the caller's button once she finds her sister's name. After a couple of rings she picks up.

"_Hey!" _Laurel greets once again.

"Hey, everything okay?" Sara asks in a low voice.

"_Yes, I just prefer to talk on the phone instead of texting. I'm not like you young people."_

"Yes Laurel, because you are sooo much older than me," Sara says rolling her eyes even though her sister can't see her.

"_Two years make a difference okay?" _She answers, making both of them laugh. Silence settles between the two sisters for a couple of beats until Laurel speaks again, _"Listen, Sara, I actually called because I wanted to talk to you about something…"_

Sara notices hesitance in her voice, "Okay… Go for it Laurel. You know you can talk to me about anything."

"_I know, it's just…" _She hears her sister sigh, _"Mom called me yesterday… She wants to meet us over the weekend."_

"No thank you," Sara quickly says.

Laurel sighs once more, _"Sara come on, just give her a chance."_

"What could she possibly have to say Laurel?" Sara asks in a harsh whisper.

"_Okay first of all, why are you whispering?!"_

Now it's Sara's turn to sigh, "Because Ava is asleep and I don't wanna wake her up."

"_Ava?! Your roommate Ava?" _Laurel asks surprised.

"Yes Laurel, who else would it be?"

"_Oh, how is that going?" _Her sister asks, amusement in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Sara asks with a confused expression on her face.

"_How is she? Is she nice? Have you hit it off well?"_

Sara shrugs her shoulders, "I mean we just met, so obviously I don't know her that well yet. But yeah, from what I've been seeing so far she is a nice person. A bit shy but once she starts to feel comfortable she is pretty funny. We even spent yesterday night at Amaya and Zari's place watching a movie," the blonde tells the last bit with excitement in her voice.

"_Really?! She already met your friends and even went to their place? I'm surprised that Zari invited her so soon."_

"I know right!? That's gotta mean something in Zari's book," Sara says earning a chuckle from Laurel.

"_But getting back to mom's subject though…"_

The small blonde groans at her sister's words, "Do we have to?"

"_I know you and mom aren't on good terms since the last time you spoke but-"_

Sara scoffs at that, "That's the biggest understatement of the year Laurel. Look I didn't even ask for her to come with us on our dropping off trip to my dorm, but I expected a _**good luck **_call at the very least. She is my mother for fuck's sake. She should act like it," Sara says, trying to keep her voice low but her anger ends up getting the best of her during her last words.

She hears Ava stir on the bed, turning on her side so her back isn't turned to Sara anymore. She starts to open her eyes slowly and a small yawn escapes her.

Sara sighs at realizing that her roommate is awake, "Listen Laurel, I gotta go. Ava just woke up and I gotta see if she needs my help."

"_Your help?! Why would she need your help Sara?"_

"I don't have time to explain right now."

"_Alright… But our conversation isn't over. We'll talk soon okay?"_

"Sure Laurel… Take care."

"_You too little sis. Love you!"_

Sara blushes a little and whispers quickly into the phone, "Love you too Laurel."

She has no problem in telling her sister that she loves her, but she still gets a little shy about saying the words in front of people she doesn't know that well. And at the moment, she has a set of greyish green eyes staring right back at her. She ends the call and places the phone back on the desk.

"I'm sorry Ava, did I wake you up?" She asks turning to the taller girl, her brows dipped in a light frown, "I should have taken the call outside."

Ava shakes her head, "You didn't wake me up," she croaks out, this time due to having just woken up, "Everything okay?" Her roommate asks, pointing with her head to the smaller girl's phone.

Sara smirks at that, "I should be the one asking you that same question," she tells her, earning a smile from Ava.

"It was just my sister Laurel asking to know how things are going so far," she adds, "How are you feeling by the way? Better?"

"Yeah… My throat doesn't hurt that much anymore when I talk and I think my fever is gone?"

"Oh great! Do you want me to check it again?" Sara asks, already dragging the chair where she's sitting closer to the girl's bed.

"Sure," Ava nods, waiting for the smaller blonde's lips against her forehead and she can't help but feel a tad disappointed when she uses her hand instead.

Once Sara is touching her skin, she smiles down at Ava. But not her usual bright smile, Ava notices. No, this one doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"Well you're not overly warm to the touch, which is a good sign," she says, caressing the girl's skin with her thumb before completely removing her hand, "You're probably well enough to go to class tomorrow."

"Thanks, for taking care of me. You didn't have to do it," Ava tells her in a shy voice.

"Like I said before, as your roommate I'm here for you. And as a friend too, if you'd like that."

The taller blonde nods softly, "Yeah, I would like that very much."

A small smirk spreads on Sara's face, "Great, because you're kinda stuck with me. There's no turning back now," she says, earning a chuckle from Ava.

"I'm still in time to ask for a replacement," Ava teases and Sara's face turns into one of feigned offense while she clutches her chest with her right hand, "You wouldn't dare!"

The taller blonde smirks at that, "Try me," she says with raised eyebrows and both girls laugh.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better Aves," Sara genuinely tells the blonde.

"Me too," Ava smiles back.

After a few seconds Ava's face turns into a more serious one, "Hey Sara…" she starts, tugging on her bottom lip with her teeth in a nervous manner, "I might have heard part of your conversation with your sister…"

Sara's mouth forms a perfect round shape, "Oh," she says nodding slowly, "Okay. How much did you hear?"

The taller blonde looks at her with a guilty expression, "I heard the bit about your mom…"

Sara crossed her arms, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well I didn't want to eavesdrop but at the same time I didn't want to interrupt because it seemed like an important talk, so I just… Stood still and quiet."

"Hm," Sara simply lets out as an answer.

Ava frowns at that, "Are you mad at me?" She asks shyly, "Because I totally get if you are, you have every right to be. It was a personal call after all and…"

"Ava…" Sara calls, trying to stop the girl from rambling.

"And I shouldn't be listening, I know it was wrong of me-"

"Aves," she tries one more time and this time Ava goes quiet.

"You're right, it was a personal call but it's not like I was gonna kick you out of your own room," she says with a light chuckle at the end.

"So you're not mad at me?"

"No, I'm not."

A big smile appears on Ava's face and Sara catches herself smiling as well.

"Good," the taller girl says. A few beats of silence settle between them before Ava speaks again, "You know that call I received this morning? Right before you left for class?"

Sara nods at her, "Yeah, I remember."

"It was my mom," Ava tells her and sighs, "It was also her that called me the day we went out for lunch at the diner with Zari."

"I also remember that. When you returned to the table you looked… Different."

"Yeah… She…" Ava sits up on her bed before continuing, "She called because of my little brother, Caleb," she smiles softly at the mention of his name.

Sara is torn between asking for more information or staying quiet and wait for Ava to go on. She decides it is best not to interrupt so she simply smiles at the blonde, hoping it is enough encouragement on her behalf.

"He has a hard time going to school sometimes and today it was one of those days again, so my mom thought it was best to call me to see if I could convince him to go."

Sara's brows turn into a frown and she speaks before she can stop herself, "I don't get it, what could you possibly do while being so far away?"

Her roommate lets out a deep sigh, "It helps when I talk to him, when I encourage him to go. I am usually the best at convincing him to do the things he's afraid to do."

"But what about your parents? They are right there," she says, sounding almost like she is defending Ava.

"It's different… Caleb and I have a special relationship. My parents have a harder time than me when it comes to making him see things the right way. You see, he's not like other kids. His mind doesn't work the same way. When he sets his mind on something, it's hard to reason with him. He also hates change, a lot."

Sara nods at her words to let the blonde know she is listening, "I see."

"You have no idea how hard it was to make him listen about me coming to College, let alone making him get used to the idea of it. During the summer holidays he would practically beg me every week to not come, to not leave him," Ava adds and Sara notices her eyes starting to get brighter, slightly changing to a light blue, "I was the one who always took him to school. He would go on and on about which classes he would have that day and which classmates he would share them with. Going through the routine of telling me all that information would help with his anxiety," her voice is slightly trembling when she finishes.

"But now? Now I'm not there anymore and all I can do is talk to him on the phone," Ava says, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Did it work?" Sara asks leaving Ava looking at her with a puzzled look, "Did what work?"

"You said you talked to him today on the phone because he didn't wanna go to school. So I'm asking if you were able to make him go."

Ava opens her mouth, speechless for a while. After a couple of beats she responds, "Yeah… Yeah, I was. He eventually agreed to go after some tough convincing."

Sara shrugs her shoulders and smiles softly at her, "That's all that matters then. Even though you're not physically present, you were still able to support him. You shouldn't blame yourself for not being there right now Aves, especially when you keep being the amazing and supportive big sister he's used to."

The taller blonde is about to respond to Sara's words when her phone rings, "Speaking of which… I really have to take this. I promised Caleb we would talk after school," Ava says motioning to the device on her hand.

"Of course. I will let you to it," Sara tells her getting up and preparing to leave when she feels Ava's free hand curl around her wrist. She looks down at her hand and then up to the mesmerizing green eyes staring back at her, "Could you stay?" She asks with such vulnerability that the smaller blonde is incapable of saying no.

"Yeah, of course," Sara nods, sitting back on the chair.

Ava smiles and releases her wrist, finally answering the call, "Hey buddy! How was your day?"

"_Ava! I thought you wouldn't pick up…"_

"Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting. But I'm here now and I wanna hear all about your day!"

"_Cool! My morning was boring, we started learning about insects in Sciences but I already knew everything."_

"Aww, I'm sure next time will be better. Don't be sad about it."

"_I'm not sad, it was just boring. I don't get why I have to be in class for that."_

"That's what it feels like having a super brain like yours Caleb, you're always one step ahead. It's not a bad thing buddy, on the contrary. It's like your secret superpower."

"_I guess… The rest of the day wasn't so bad though. I made a new friend after lunch!"_

"You did? That's amazing! What's his name?"

"_She's a girl but she's very cool. Her name is Rachel and she likes Pokémon and has a cat named Fluffy which I told her is a silly name for a cat but she said she likes it!"_

"Really? Did you tell her that we have a cat as well?"

"_I did and she said she wants to meet her! I asked mom and she said we can have a playdate soon!"_

Ava could practically see her little brother's huge smile through the excitement in his voice.

"That's amazing Caleb! Rachel does sounds very cool."

"_She is! I'm gonna show her my entire collection of Pokémon cards and stickers!"_

Ava chuckles, "That's an amazing idea. I'm sure she is gonna love it buddy."

"_Yeah it's gonna be awesome Ava! I wish you could meet her…"_

"Well maybe when I come home for the weekend?"

"_Yes that's a great idea!"_

"It's settled then buddy."

"_Great! I'm gonna tell her about you! Hey Ava, have you made new friends too?"_

The blonde is surprised at her brother's question, thinking on it for a couple of seconds. She looks to her side and Sara is still there, busy scrolling through her own phone. She lifts her face when she feels Ava's eyes on her and her lips turn into a soft smile.

The taller blonde reciprocates it before answering her brother, "I did Caleb, and she is pretty cool too."

"_Cool! What's her name?"_

"Her name is Sara, she's my roommate."

"_What's she like?"_

"She's…" Ava stops and bites her lip, "She's nice and very funny," she admits shyly.

Meanwhile Sara is looking over at her with a smirk on her face, finding the blush on the blonde's face too adorable to miss a glance at it.

"_Maybe the four of us should have a playdate together! You, me, Rachel and Sara."_

"Ahah! Yeah buddy, maybe we should," Ava laughs freely and Sara is taken by surprise by how great the blonde's laughter sounds to her own ears.

"_It will be awesome!"_

After that silence falls between them and she can hear Caleb whine over the line to someone else on the other end of the call.

Her brother sighs softly before speaking again, _"Ava I've gotta go. I have to do my homework and mom wants to talk to you."_

"Okay buddy, you can put her on. I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?"

"_Yes, tomorrow," _he says before handing the phone to his mother.

"_Hey honey, how are you? How was your day?"_

"I'm fine mom."

"_Are you sure? Your voice sounds a little weird. Are you sick?"_

"No, don't worry about me. I woke up with a mild cold but I'm already starting to feel better."

"_A cold?! Maybe you should go to the doctor's honey, it could be something serious!"_

"Mom, I'm fine. Seriously, don't worry."

"_Oh sweetie you know I always worry about you and your brother. It's part of being a mom."_

"Yes I know, but you don't really have to. I feel fine, honestly. And speaking of Caleb, he is really excited about his new friend isn't he?"

"_Ah yes! It was the first thing he mentioned to me as soon as he got in the car after I went to pick him up from school. You should have seen his smile!"_

"I can imagine. He has such a beautiful smile. I miss seeing it, _him_."

"_I know you do honey but the weekend is almost here. Only two days away."_

"Yeah I know."

"_Listen sweetie I have to go now, I have to start preparing the dinner."_

"Alright mom, I'll talk to you soon. Give a kiss to dad for me."

"_I will Ava, take care."_

As soon as Ava ends the call, Sara turns her attention to her, "So… I'm nice _and _funny? Way to make a girl feel special Aves," she winks at the taller blonde.

"I regret it already," Ava says rolling her eyes, but the smirk on her face lets Sara know that she doesn't mean it.

"You forgot _hot _by the way."

"It's not like I was gonna tell my brother that!"

Sara raises her eyebrows, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Oh so you do agree that I'm hot?"

Ava's face turns redder than a tomato, "I – That wasn't – Gosh you're insufferable!" She lets out, grabbing her pillow and throwing it against Sara's face who quickly dodges it.

"Yeah that's not gonna work on me Aves, I have the reflexes of a ninja," she tells the girl, making a pose to prove a point.

Ava just laughs, not believing what she just told her.

"What, you don't believe me? I've been training Martial Arts ever since I was a kid."

The taller blonde raises her eyebrows at her, "Prove it then."

"What do you mean?"

Ava shrugs her shoulders, "Well if you're as good as you say, prove it. Just come at me."

Sara's face turns into a slight frown, "I'm not gonna do that! You're still recovering from your cold. It wouldn't be fair of me to 'attack' you."

Ava's lips turn into a pout, "You're no fun."

"Oh, you have no idea how fun I can be," Sara says after leaning closer to the other blonde, "Something you will get to see as soon as you get a full recovery," dropping her voice into a husky tone. Her roommate blushes even harder and her eyes are now wide-open.

_That sounded a lot like flirting, _Ava thinks, _But it can't be, right? Why would Sara be flirting with me, it doesn't make any sense. She is just messing with me, that's all. Besides I was the one who challenged her first, from what I've seen so far from Sara I should already be expecting this sort of answer from her. Still, why is my heart beating like crazy? And my stomach is all weird, could it be from the cold? It's too hot in here again, I need to get out of this bed._

"I'm gonna go take a shower," Ava says out loud, getting up from her bed slowly to avoid feeling dizzy again.

"You okay? No dizziness at all?" Sara asks with a concerned face.

The taller blonde shakes her head, "Nope!"

She quickly answers while she grabs two towels to take with her to the bathroom. When she is done she closes the door behind her and leans her back against the cool wooden surface, letting out a small sigh, "Get a grip Ava…" she whispers to herself before taking her clothes out and stepping inside the shower.

Inside the room Sara is lost in her own thoughts, _You've stepped the line Sara… Why did you have to flirt with her?! Everything was going so well! Now you probably made things weird between you two. You're an idiot._

She grabs her phone for some sort of distraction and ends up remembering her chat with Laurel. She goes to the contacts and calls her sister who answers after a couple of minutes.

"_Sara? Everything okay?"_

"Hey Laurel. Yeah, everything's fine. You busy?"

Her sister doesn't really buy into it but she decides not to force her to speak.

"_Not at all. Why are you calling?"_

"Well you said you wanted to talk about mom so I'm all ears, I guess."

"_Okay… She didn't say much about why she wants to meet, other than that she would like to talk to us. You especially. She will be in the city on Saturday and since you and I were already planning on going over there for the weekend I told her we were free to meet for dinner. What do you think?"_

"I really don't see what she could possibly have to say, but fine. Does dad know?"

"_That she will be around? I thought it was probably best not to tell him and I also don't think mom told him."_

"Alright… I'll let the arrangements to you then."

"_Okay Sara. And thanks for agreeing with all of this, I know it's not easy for you after your last conversation but this time I'll be there by your side. You're not alone little sis."_

"I know Laurel, thank you."

"_Good! I'll let you know the details after I talk with her. Have a good night Sara."_

"You too big sis, bye."

* * *

**AN: I hope you enjoyed your reading, any reviews will be appreciated :)**


	7. Chapter 7 - Apologies

**AN: Hello dear readers! Sorry it took me more than a month to update, but I was having a bit of a writer's block with this particular work.**

**Thank you to everyone who subscribed, gave kudos and took the time to leave a comment, you can't imagine how much this all means to me :)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy your reading!**

**Musician I listened to on repeat: FINNEAS.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 7**

After fifteen minutes Ava is done with her shower and steps out of the bathroom wearing a worn t-shirt, baggy pants and sneakers with her hair held up in a loose ponytail.

Sara looks up at her, "Feeling better?"

Ava smiles at the worry in her voice, "Much better," she nods.

"Great," the smaller blonde smiles back, "Enough to have dinner with me downstairs at the cafeteria?"

"Yeah, I could go for something other than soup and pills," Ava says with a smirk, earning a chuckle from her roommate.

"Let's go then," Sara says while getting up and walking out the door with Ava trailing behind.

The short walk is done in silence, with neither of them knowing what to talk about. Once they reach the cafeteria they place themselves on the line. There are already a few other students there, but thankfully not many. After five minutes the lady behind the counter finally addresses them.

"Good evening honey! What will you be having?" She asks Sara with a warm smile, which the girl returns.

"Hm... I think I'm in the mood for some tacos and a bottle of water please!"

"Coming right up!" The older woman tells her before turning her attention to Ava, "What about you honey?"

"I'll just have the salmon with roasted potatoes and a bottle of water as well, please," the taller blonde asks shyly, blushing at the endearing term.

"Great choice!"

Once both of them have their food served they make their way with their respective trays to an empty table, sitting in front of one another.

The girls start to dig in and sit there silent for a while, each staying focused on their meals even though they steal a few glances to what the other is doing now and then.

After a while Sara finally decides to break the silence, putting down her taco on the plate.

"So you're a fan of salmon?" She asks and immediately curses herself at how pointless that question sounded. Seriously, couldn't she think of a better thing to ask? She almost rolls her eyes at her own words.

Ava finishes swallowing before raising a single eyebrow and giving her a weird look, "Well I did ordered it, so I guess the answer is pretty obvious," she says with a smirk playing on her lips.

"Right," Sara mutters, unable to stop the blush that creeps into her cheeks.

Her roommate notices it and ends up feeling a bit bad for her. She puts her fork and knife down and cleans her mouth a napkin before clearing her throat to get Sara's attention.

"It's one of the few fishes I like though," Ava states, pursing her lips, "I'm not a huge fan of fish meals. In fact, up until recently I only ate salmon and canned tuna."

Sara tilts her head at the information, "Any reason in particular?"

"Childhood trauma." Ava nonchalantly admits, shrugging her shoulders along.

Her roommate's curiosity suddenly peaks at it, bright blue eyes wide in amusement, "Sorry what? You have to tell me more!" She almost whined.

The taller girl chuckles and continues, "It happened when I was around six years old I think? My parents and I were spending our summer holidays in Portugal and we were having fish for lunch, probably sardines, I can't really remember. Anyway, I choked on this huge fishbone and it hurt for weeks! I still remember the pain on my throat," she explains to Sara who simply laughed at the whole story.

"Don't laugh at me you jerk!" Ava scolds but a smile can be seen on her face.

Sara only laughs harder, shaking her head, "I'm sorry Aves, but really? That's your childhood trauma?"

"Look it really hurt alright?" The blonde defends herself, an adorable pout on her lips, "It made me scared of eating fish again."

"Alright, alright, I believe you," Sara holds her hands up until Ava's pout is gone.

"So, why Portugal? Isn't that like super far away?"

"My grandparents from my mom's side live there," her roommate tells her with a small smile, "And it's nine hours of flight to be more precise." Ava tells her and returns to eating the rest of her food before it gets cold.

Sara nods at her and turns her attention to her meal as well, taking a bite from her taco and swallowing before she speaks again, "How is it like over there? I confess I don't know much about that particular country."

Ava takes a sip of her water, "It's a truly beautiful country with lots of wonderful countryside and beaches, and the people are very warm and nice to foreigners."

"You aren't a foreigner though," Sara chimes in, "Wait, are you?"

Ava purses her lips in thought before giving an answer, "Well... I've always considered myself more foreigner than local, but I guess I do have Portuguese blood in my veins, even though I was born and raised here in the States."

"Do you know how to speak the language?" The smaller blonde asks, her eyes shinning with curiosity.

Her roommate smirks at her, "I know a few words." Ava admits smugly.

Sara smiles at the information, "Look at her! Smug smile and everything," the girl observes, "Maybe you can teach me sometime. I bet you sound sexy." She adds with a smirk and raised eyebrows.

Ava starts to blush profusely, a nervous laugh leaving her lips and Sara was just about to comment on how adorable she looks with her cheeks tinged in pink when a voice catches her attention.

"Hey Sara!"

She turns around and smiles up to the voice's owner, "Hey Nate!" She greets the boy, who's carrying a tray of his own.

"Can I join you?" He asks, looking between her and Ava.

"Sure!" Sara tells him, pointing to the seat next to her. The boy smiles brightly and happily sits down.

Ava takes a quick look at him before turning her attention to her food once again. She's not sure why, but she suddenly feels her good mood vanishing.

"Let me introduce you to my roommate!" She lifts up her head again at hearing Sara's voice, plastering a small smile on her face.

"This is Ava," the smaller blonde explains with a smirk, "Ava, this is Nate. Remember me mentioning him before?"

The taller girl nods at her, "Yeah I remember. Nice to meet you Nate."

The boy smiles, "You too Ava. So you're studying Medicine as well?"

Ava shakes her head, "Psychology." She simply offers before taking a bite from her salmon.

"Really? That's cool!" Nate says and then his face turns into one of confusion, "Wait, does that mean you have a class called _"The History of Psychology"_?"

The blonde turns her attention back at him, "Yeah I do... Why?"

"I have it as well, but I didn't see you there this morning."

Ava blushes at that and as Sara notices her discomfort she decides to intervene, "She was feeling under the weather."

"I decided to take some time to rest."

"Oh I see. Well we didn't approach much yet but I still took a few notes. I can lend them to you if you'd like to?"

Ava looks at him, taken aback from his generosity, "Yeah, sure," she tells him with a genuine smile this time, "Thanks Nate, that's very kind of you."

"No problem, we can meet at the Library. Just tell me when and I'll be there." The boy suggests looking at her with hope.

"Sure, how about tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sounds perfect," Nate agrees with a soft smile, "Oh, do you want my phone number? In case you need to reschedule. I mean you don't have to say yes, obviously..." He chuckles nervously, clearing his throat immediately while a blush creeps into his face.

Ava finds the whole situation amusing but stops herself from laughing, she knows it wouldn't be very kind of her. Instead she grabs her phone out of her pocket and unlocks it, "Alright go on," she tells him and after a couple of seconds his number is saved on her contacts and she thanks him.

Nate smiles before cutting a piece of his stake and munching on it. A silence falls between the three of them while they all finish their meals.

After a while something occurs to Ava and she gulps down her food with the help of some water before speaking again, "I didn't even ask, what is it you're majoring in?"

"History and Politics," the boy tells her with a happy smile to which Ava nods her head, "Interesting. I'm a fan of History as well, Politics not so much," she admits.

"Really? What interests you it?" Nate asks, interested in getting to know the blonde better.

They keep talking between the both of them while Sara stays in the background simply watching the whole conversation. A strange and uneasy feeling starts to bloom inside of her so she tries to focus on finishing her meal quickly. After a few minutes her plate is finally empty and she clears her throat waiting for Ava to look at her. When the latter does Sara forces a small smile into her face, "Well I'm done here so I think I'm gonna head back to the dorm," she lets her know, starting to get up with her tray in hand.

The taller blonde nods and goes to get up as well but Sara's voice stops her, "You don't need to come with me," she says more harshly than she intended to, earning a frown from Ava.

"What do you mean?" Her roommate asks, clearly taken a little aback.

Sara shrugs her shoulders, "You're clearly enjoying yourself so stay," she tells her before turning to look at Nate, "I'll see you around." She lets him know before leaving, not even giving the boy a chance to reply.

Both Ava and Nate look at Sara's retreating form with matching frowns on their faces.

"Did I say something wrong?" Nate asks with concern after turning his attention back to Ava.

The blonde shakes her head, "No, don't worry about it. Maybe she's just tired."

"Oh okay."

After that they both stay in silence, each eating their meals. Once they finish, they take their empty trays and go to the counter to return them, wishing the lady there a good night.

As they're both walking through the halls of the institute, Nate offers to walk Ava to her dorm room and she politely declines, "I appreciate it Nate, but there's no need," she tells him with a smile, "I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that she goes on her way to the room, passing through corners and halls that now start to become a bit familiar, little by little. Once she arrives, she knocks first before entering. When she doesn't get any answer she decides to enter anyway.

The first thing she notices is that Sara is still awake and already in her pyjamas. The girl is sitting against her headboard with her laptop on her lap and some earbuds on. She chances a quick glance at Ava but doesn't say a word.

The taller blonde sits down on her own bed looking at her, "Sara," she calls twice but to no avail.

Ava decides on a different approach. She gets up and walks her way, standing next to the smaller girl. This time Sara looks up directly at her and Ava points to her own ear, silently asking her to take off her earbuds.

Once the girl does as asked, her roommate starts to speak, "Hey. Everything okay?"

Sara shrugs her shoulders and nods, glancing back down at the laptop's screen, "Why wouldn't it be?"

Ava frowns and sits down, "You seemed off at the cafeteria. One minute we were talking and then you just got silent and left," she explains, fidgeting with her fingers.

Sara notices that and the frown on the blonde's face, but pushes down the urge to make the worry go away from Ava's face. Instead she answers, "You and Nate were having your own conversation, I decided to leave you two to it by giving you some space."

Ava's frown deepens at her roommate's words, "What is that supposed to mean?"

The smaller blonde chuckles and shakes her head, "He is clearly interested in you Ava."

Ava snorts at the statement, "Right," she says as she rolls her eyes, "He was simply being nice, that's all."

Sara stares at her with raised eyebrows, "Really? Let's check the facts shall we? First, he immediately offered to share his notes with you," the girl counts with the help of her fingers, "Second, he was excited when you told him you also enjoy History; and third, he gave you his phone number after what? Five minutes of talking?"

"Wow! You're making a big deal out of this Sara, those interactions meant nothing."

"It amazes me how you can be so oblivious."

"It's not my fault if you're seeing second intentions where there are clearly none!" Ava accuses, raising her voice, "And by the way, hypocrisy isn't a look good on you," she bites back before adding, "You also gave him your number right after you met him, or have you already forgotten about that?"

Sara doesn't reply to that, instead deciding to put her earbuds back on in an attempt to put a definitive end to the conversation before it can further escalate.

The taller blonde scoffs at her and gets up upon getting the clear message, "Whatever... I'm going to bed."

* * *

The rest of the week goes by fast for both girls. Ava returns to her usual college routine the day after her cold, already feeling good enough to attend class, and then in the afternoon she meets with Nate as scheduled. Nothing eventful happens to Sara and Ava as they simply focus on their studies. The only difference being that ever since their _almost_ discussion on the night of the cafeteria the girls haven't talked much between them, the only words few words shared being the brief greetings in the morning or anytime one of them would return to the dorm.

On Thursday Sara decides to go out for lunch with Zari and Amaya to clear her head. Both girls notice a slight change in Sara's mood and even mention it, but they end up respecting their friend's wish when she tells them that she doesn't want to talk about it. They also ask about how Ava's doing and find it strange when Sara gives them a short and vague answer to it, but decide to focus on their friend instead and are actually able to cheer her up a bit.

When Friday finally arrives the girls are busy preparing their bags with some clothing and personal items to spend the weekend with their respective families.

They go around the room in silence, with the only sound heard being the songs from the Indie-Folk playlist Sara had put playing on YouTube a few minutes ago.

Once she is done with her bags she turns to look at Ava who has her back turned on her.

"Any exciting activities over the weekend?" Sara asks her roommate while the girl is grabbing some underwear to put on her duffel bag.

Ava doesn't answer right away and after a few seconds any remnants of hope that Sara had are now gone. She decides to sit down and entertain herself with a game app on her phone.

Some minutes go by and the tall blonde finally finishes packing the last items of clothing. She is torn between answering Sara's question or simply ignoring it. She knows it's rude to pretend like the girl hasn't asked anything, and rude is something Ava praises herself of not being. On the other hand, she's still a bit mad at the way Sara talked to her about Nate. Ava had a great time with him at the Library and the boy was actually really helpful by letting her go over his notes. He didn't even ask for anything in return and that led Ava to once again realize that Sara couldn't be more wrong on her judgement of him. A couple of more beats go by until she decides to finally break the uncomfortable silence between them.

"I may be going to the park with my mom and Caleb," Ava tells her before sitting down on her own bed, "What about you?"

Sara lifts her face up from the small screen to face her, surprised but glad to hear her roommate's voice. She replies after a few seconds, "I'm probably gonna sleep in until Laurel annoyingly wakes me up to go shopping with her because she says going alone is no fun." Sara tells her, and Ava smiles at it but it seems forced and she hates it.

She sighs before speaking again, "Listen Ava, I owe you an apology for the way I spoke the other night," Sara admits before looking down at the phone on her hands, playing with it, "I don't know why I acted the way I did..." she adds, looking up at the other girl with an apologetic face. She braces herself before continuing, "I just know that I went into full protective mode and I couldn't stop the words coming out of my mouth."

That surprises and confuses Ava at the same time, "Why would you feel the need to protect me? Nate is clearly harmless. He probably wouldn't even hurt a fly."

Sara shrugs her shoulders, "I guess I still feel guilty about what happened with that jerk at the campus party."

Ava feels a pressure in her chest at hearing the girl's words and something pulls her to make her way over to sit next to her. She takes Sara's hand in hers gently to try to ease the smaller blonde's guilt, "Sara, we already talked about this that night. I told you it wasn't your fault."

"But I was the one pressuring you to go-"

"You didn't pressure me. It was my decision, okay? The only thing you're guilty of is showing up at the right time and saving me from whatever might have happened," Ava assures with a soft smile, "And believe me when I tell you that I'm very thankful for that."

"Okay." Sara says with a small nod, squeezing Ava's hand gently before adding, "Thanks for giving me a chance to explain myself Ava, I really don't want things to be bad between us."

"Don't worry, it's all good Sara." The taller girl replies with a smile before letting go of their joined hands and Sara can't help but notice how uncomfortable it feels without her touch. She shakes the thought quickly, instead distracting herself by keeping the conversation flowing.

"So, I bet Caleb is excited to see his big sister this weekend."

A wide smile appears on Ava's face and Sara's heart jumps at the sight.

"Oh, definitely! He probably already made a plan of all the activities we will get to do together."

Sara laughs at that, "He really sounds like a cute kid. I've always wondered what it would be like to have a little sister or brother."

"Really? It's just you and Laurel then?"

"Yep! Just Laurel, myself and dad. My parents divorced a couple of years ago."

"Oh I see... I'm sorry about that." Ava offers genuinely, turning her head to look at Sara.

The freckled girl shakes her head, a forced smile on her face, "Don't be, we're better off without her."

"Do you get to see your mom often?" The taller blonde asks and when her roommate doesn't answer she curses herself before saying, "Forget that I asked that. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"It's okay." Sara says as she shrugs her shoulders. She looks at Ava's eyes for a couple of seconds before looking down again, the genuine concern she sees on them being too much at the moment.

She swallows before explaining, "We have a complicated relationship. She let me down recently and I..." she sighs before continuing, "I haven't been able to speak to her ever since."

"Mhm..." Ava takes the time to choose her next words carefully, "I know I have no idea about what happened between you two, but what I'm hearing is that you need some time to heal from it and that is totally reasonable. You have every right to do so."

"I know Aves, but I can't help but feel like I'm the one that's on the wrong here. Especially when Laurel keeps telling me that I should give her a chance." Sara admits and Ava can't help and try to offer some support.

"Hey..." she says as she extends her right arm, "Come here?" She asks a bit shyly – way out of her comfort zone - and waits for the smaller girl to place her head on her shoulder. Sara seems startled at first but eventually nods and scoots closer to Ava, resting her head against the blonde's shoulder.

"Thanks." Sara whispers as she gets used of being this close to her roommate. It isn't like they haven't been this close before, but this time it feels different. It feels more intimate and raw. Her left arm wraps around Ava's waist as she feels the blonde's own arm circle around her shoulders. They stay in silence for a while, until Sara feels ready to speak again.

"Laurel has arranged for our mom to meet us this Saturday for dinner," she says followed by a deep sigh, "But I'm still not sure if I want to go."

Ava frowns at the information, deciding to speak her mind, "I know Laurel is probably just trying to help you and your mom make amends - what would be expected seeing as she is your older sister and cares about you - but if you still don't feel ready to talk to her then you should be able to say no."

"I know... But maybe Laurel's right. Maybe I should really give my mom a chance, she might actually want to apologize for what she did," Sara turns her head to look up at Ava as she says that and her ocean blue eyes are so filled with doubt that Ava stays speechless for a moment.

She tries to put on her most reassuring smile before nodding, "Yeah."

Sara smiles back at her, one of her dimples showing off, "I know we have only met this week, but I'm glad I can talk to you about this," the girl admits with a light blush on her face.

Ava smirks down at her before replying, "You can always talk to me Sara, I'll be here," she lets her roommate know before reaching her free hand out to tuck a loose strand of light blonde hair behind Sara's ear. She lets her hand linger against the girl's cheek as she stares down at her eyes before her gaze falls onto the pair of rosy lips in front of her, a warmth taking over her chest as she notices the adorable cluster of tiny freckles above Sara's upper lip. She swallows before tugging on her own bottom lip, her eyes moving up again to look at her roommate's. Her heart suddenly beating faster, the sound pounding roughly against her own hears as she notices Sara slightly tilting her head to the right and slowly starting to lean in closer. Ava feels a pull within her core - telling her to meet the smaller girl half-away – and she is unable to say no to it. Her gaze drops down to Sara's lips again before she flutters her eyes closed, tilting her head to the right as well. She can feel their breaths mixing as their lips almost touch, but before it can happen a ring sounds around the room and Sara immediately jumps to her feet, searching for the culprit.

The smaller blonde curses to herself as she picks up her phone, answering the call.

"Laurel, hey!" She greets a bit breathless.

"_Hey little sister! Everything okay? You sound a little off."_

Sara runs a hand through her hair before letting out a nervous chuckle, "Yeah, I'm fine!"

"_Right... I'm calling to tell you that dad and I will be there in about ten minutes."_

"Okay cool, I'll be waiting downstairs."

"_Alright, see you then."_

After that Laurel ends the call and Sara locks her phone, putting it away on her pocket. She keeps her back turned on Ava, her mind clouded by what almost happened if her sister hadn't interrupted them. She braces herself, counting to slowly to five in her head before turning around and facing her roommate once again.

When she does, she notices that the taller blonde is busy looking at her phone, quietly tapping something on it. After a couple of seconds she looks up and stares right into Sara, "My mom just texted me. She says she's downstairs waiting for me," she announces but doesn't move from her seat.

Sara nods before starting to make her way over, "Listen Ava-"

At that the girl suddenly gets up, walking past Sara to grab her duffel bag that's placed on her own bed, "I have to go..." she says with an apologetic look on her face. She scratches the back of her neck with her left hand before taking a quick glance at Sara, "Listen, I hope all goes well with your mom tomorrow whether you end up deciding to meet her or not. Just feel free to call me if you need someone to talk to, alright? You still have my number?"

Sara blinks slowly before finding her voice again. She clears her throat, "Yep, still got it. Thanks Aves," she nods followed by a small smile which Ava returns.

"Alright, take care." The taller blonde says before leaving the room.

As soon as Sara makes sure that Ava can't hear her, she throws herself onto her bed as she covers her face with both hands, a muffled groan coming out of her mouth.

* * *

When Ava finally meets her mom, she greets her with a big smile followed by a tight hug.

"Oh sweetie! It's so good to see you!" The older woman admits, hugging her back. Once they pull away, her mom gives her a once over, "Have you lost some weight honey? You look thinner."

Her daughter rolls her eyes half-heartedly, "Mom, come on! It has only been _**one **_week. I promise I'm not starving without your wonderful cooking," she assures her smirking.

Her mother chuckles at her words, "Alright Ava, you're right. I can't wait for you to tell me all about your first week," she says as she opens one of the passenger's doors to place the girl's duffel bag inside. Once she's behind the wheel with her daughter sitting by her side, she turns on the engine and hits the road.

After a solid ten minutes of driving, her mother finally speaks, "So tell me honey, how was your week? Are you enjoying your classes?"

Ava nods at remembering some of them, "Yeah, I am. Even though I haven't had many of them yet. So far all I had was _'Introduction to Psychology'_, _'The History of Psychology'_ and _'Physiological Psychology'_."

"Is that so?" Her mom asks, eyes still focused on the road, "I remember that I didn't have many classes on my first week too."

The blonde looks at her mom surprised, "You still remember that?"

"How could I forget?" The older woman says with a fond smile on her lips, "It was when I met your dad for the very first time."

"Oh... You never told me much about that."

Her mom shrugs her shoulders, "You never seemed interested in knowing."

Ava feels a slight pang of guilt at hearing her mother's words, "I'm sorry mom, you're right. But I would actually love to hear it sometime."

"Alright sweetie, I'll tell you all about it when we get home."

The blonde smiles at that before enjoying the rest of the ride in a comfortable silence.

* * *

**Meanwhile with the Lances**

The sun is almost setting when Sara, her sister and her dad arrive home. The drive there went by smoothly, with Laurel and her dad chatting happily about every subject they could remember. Sara took the chance to rest for a little bit by placing her head against the window and simply enjoying the view. As her eyes got lost on the blurry trees by the roadside, she couldn't help her mind from wandering to what had happened earlier that day. _I still can't believe that I almost kissed Ava. What if I just screwed up our still so new and fragile friendship? We just met and we have to share a tiny room for the whole year. How could I be so reckless? Don't I have any self-control at all?! Fucking hell..._

She cursed to herself, desperately trying to think of a way to fix her mistake. But on the other hand... _Ava did seem to lean into it as well._

Sara quickly shook the thought from her head, _Nope! You're just imagining things. As if a nice girl like her would kiss someone who's practically a stranger to her, and to make matters worse, a __**girl**__. _

She rolls her eyes at herself, so deep in her thoughts that she doesn't even realize that the car has pulled up until her sister is knocking on her window.

"Sara, hello?" Laurel calls, giving her a weird look.

The younger girl unbuckles her belt and grabs her bag before stepping out of the car, "Sorry, I got distracted," she apologizes as she closes the door.

"Everything okay kiddos?" Their father asks as he appears beside them. He steps closer to Sara and drapes his arm around her shoulders, holding her tight to him, "You were awfully quiet during the trip Sara, it doesn't seem like you."

She smiles up at her dad as she shakes her head, "I'm okay dad, just tired."

The man nods before pressing a kiss to her forehead, "Alright, why don't you go rest a little bit while I order some food? Both of you," he adds looking at his older daughter.

The girls do as suggested, each going to their own bedrooms. As Sara enters hers, she drops her bag on the floor and sits down on her bed. A sigh leaves her lips as her eyes roam around the familiar space. _Somehow this room doesn't feel as homey as before. It's like it's missing something, _she thinks to herself before getting up and taking her shoes off. She walks to her closet, opening the doors to take her favourite pyjamas; a baggy t-shirt and some shorts.

As she is closing the wooden doors, a knock catches her attention. She leans her head back to find her sister standing there.

"Laurel, hey," she greets with a small smile that her sister returns.

The older girl enters the room and sits down on the bed, "I'm all ears Sara."

Sara looks at her with a puzzled look on her face, "What?"

Laurel rolls her eyes at her sister's reaction, "Come on, don't play dumb. I'm your sister, I can tell when something's wrong. So, spill." She says, patting the spot next to her.

The younger girl shrugs it off, "Nothing's wrong, Laurel." Sara insists, tearing her eyes away from her sister's prying ones.

Laurel lets out a deep sigh before asking in a gentle voice, "Is this about mom?"

Sara lifts her head and looks back at her sister again, this time taking her invitation to sit beside her. She ponders on telling her about Ava, but she's not even sure how to start that conversation. Instead, she decides to nod at Laurel's question. It's not the whole reason for her weird mood, but at least it's half of it.

The older girl pats her on the head gently, "I know I asked you to give mom a chance, but if it's still too hard on you I won't be mad if you decide not to come to dinner."

The blonde looks at her with wide eyes, "You won't?"

"Of course not Sara. The only reason I asked was because I think it may be good for her to explain herself. But I totally understand if you're hurt and don't want to see her."

Sara hugs Laurel tightly upon hearing her kind words, "Thanks Laurel!" She whispers before letting go, grabbing her sister's hands in hers, "I want to go, hear what she has to say."

"Okay, but let's make a deal," Laurel smiles softly at her, squeezing her hands back, "As soon as you feel uncomfortable we're out of there. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great Laurel, thank you." Sara says with a hint of a smile, hugging the older girl one more time.

* * *

**AN: Hope you liked it! As always, feel free to leave a comment with your opinion on it. It helps me to know if I'm doing a good job or not.**

**On another note, I have some one-shots published and I also started a new story which is a Soulmate AU. If those interest you, please feel free to take a look ;)**


	8. Chapter 8 - Open Conversations

**AN: First things first: You'll notice that I assigned Ava's birthday in January 7th 2001, and seeing as this story is in pace with the present time this means that she's currently 18 years old. I'm also depicting her as a Capricorn because I believe it makes sense, especially for the way I'm building her character in this AU. All the other birthdays mentioned in this chapter are inspired by people from my own family.**

**Secondly: This chapter is a bit heavier than the previous ones because it approaches tough subjects such as homophobia and mental health issues.**

**The interactions both girls have with some members of their families will not all be pleasant so they might be a bit harder to read. Prepare for angst!**

**Regardless of all of this, I still hope you enjoy the chapter. It was written with lots of love and effort :)**

**Musicians I listened to a lot while writing this one: 'Sleeping at Last' and 'Anson Seabra'.**

**WARNINGS: Mentions of homophobia and depiction of mental health issues (slight meltdown).**

* * *

**CHAPTER 8**

It's around eight in the evening when Laurel and Sara arrive at the small restaurant located on the more lively part of the city. As they walk further into the venue, the older sister immediately spots their mother on a table at the left corner. She turns to Sara and points to the older woman with her head, waiting for her sister to notice her too.

As soon as the blonde nods both girls make their way to the table. The woman gets up and greets Laurel with a quick hug and a warm smile on her face that's returned by her daughter. She goes to do the same with her youngest but Sara simply sits across from her, giving her a short nod of recognition before casting her eyes down to her clasped hands now resting on the table. Laurel's smile turns into an apologetic one as she sits to her mother's left.

"It's so good to see you girls," The older woman admits, looking between her daughters, "I'm very glad you agreed to meet me."

"Of course mom," Laurel replies with a nod, "It's good to see you too."

Her mother smiles at the brunette's words. Her eyes fall on Sara once again, waiting for some kind of answer even if small. When she gets none, an uncomfortable silence falls between the three of them.

It only gets interrupted once a waiter approaches their table to take their orders. As soon as he has it all written it down, he lets them by themselves again.

The older woman clears her throat, trying to get her daughters' attention, "So girls, how was the first week of College?"

Laurel looks at her with a small smile, "It went good, even though I'm already swamped with tons of classes and assignments." She finishes with a sigh.

"Well I'm sure you're doing just fine, more than fine actually," her mother states with a proud smile before placing her hand on top of Laurel's, "As you always do honey."

The brunette grins at the compliment, squeezing her mother's hand, "Thanks mom."

"What about you Sara?" The older woman asks, fully facing the younger girl.

"Did you seriously invite us here to ask about College?! You could have done that over the phone you know? Save yourself the trip." Sara spats, arms crossed against her chest.

"Absolutely Sara, you know I worry about both you and Laurel."

The blonde shakes her head, "I call bullshit."

"Sara..." Her sister warns and Sara sends her a glare.

"What Laurel?! Do you really think she wanted to meet us to ask about that?"

Her sister shrugs her shoulders, "Well, why not?"

Their mother lets out a breath, "Girls, please don't start," she asks with a shake of her head before entwining both her hands and place them on top of the table, "Your sister is right Laurel. That wasn't the sole reason I wanted to see you both."

Sara scoffs at that, "What else is new?"

Laurel ignores her sister's remark and turns to the older woman, "Okay. What was the real reason then?"

The woman takes a deep breath before replying, "Well, as you both know, Steve and I have been together for a while now-"

Her younger daughter wrinkles her nose at the man's name, but doesn't say anything.

"-And we think it's time to take the next step in our relationship."

Both sisters are left speechless, looking at each other at the same time with similar wide-eyes.

After a couple of seconds in silence Laurel decides to ask, "What does that mean exactly?"

Her mother smiles at the question before explaining, "It means that we are getting married."

Sara's eyebrows quickly raise, almost reaching her hairline, "You're kidding right? You've known him for like what? A year?!"

"Two years Sara. Steve and I have been together for two years now and we are ready to make it legitimately official."

The blonde looks at her mother as if the woman has suddenly turned into a different person, a person she no longer knows. Which if she thinks about it truly, isn't really far from the truth.

She turns to her sister, trying to find some kind of support on her face but when she sees her expression she has to keep herself from snickering. Because it's probably the exact same expression Sara has right now on her own face.

Eventually Laurel finds her voice again, turning to her mother, "What do you expect us to say mom?"

"I would expect my daughters to support me honey. To be there at the wedding, by my side." Their mother admits with a hopeful voice.

Sara scoffs once again, shaking her head. She leans in closer to her mother across the table, eyes with a challenging fire on them.

"Do you really expect me to show you any kind of support when you can't even do the same for me?! Are you out of your mind?"

"Sara! That is no way to talk to your mother!" The older woman scolds, still keeping her voice low as to not draw any attention to them.

Laurel intervenes, placing her left hand on her mother's shoulder, "Mom, Sara is right. She has every right to be mad at you."

The brunette is met with confused eyes, "What do you mean Laurel? I did nothing wrong."

Laurel's eyebrows dip in a deep frown, "Mom, you can't be serious." She says, turning her attention at Sara for a moment and when she sees how sad her little sister looks, she feels her own heart painfully clench and something deep inside tells her to act.

"As soon as Sara came out to you as bisexual you immediately dismissed it as a phase." The brunette angrily accuses.

Their mother immediately responds, "And I still think it is a phase Laurel! You know, many of my friends experimented being with girls in College and nowadays all of them are married to a man and have several children," she says with conviction before turning to Sara, "You just haven't found the right boy yet Sara."

At those ignorant words the blonde simply can't stand being quiet anymore and angrily shouts, "Are you fucking serious right now?!"

"Language young lady! That is not the way I raised you!"

Sara clenches her jaw and fists, trying to breathe through the flaming hot rage that's trying to take ahold of her. She takes a deep breath before getting up from her seat, opening her eyes to look straight at her mother while she speaks, "You don't get to tell me how to act, not anymore. Because as far as I am concerned you are everything but my mother!"

"Sara-"

"And for your information, you were not the one who got to raise me. Dad was the one who did it all on his own, and you can be damn sure he did a great job at it! He accepts me exactly as I am."

The older woman rolls her eyes at that, "Of course!" She says while shaking her head, "Why am I not surprised that your dad goes along with this nonsense of yours? No wonder you keep insisting that what happened with that Hannah girl was acceptable. She corrupted you Sara, can't you see that?"

"Mom, enough-"

"No Laurel, that's okay," Sara cuts off her sister before continuing herself, "You still don't get it do you?" She asks, tired eyes never leaving her mom's confused ones. Her mind loses focus for a moment as she remembers the still fresh memory, the way Hannah's lips felt against hers and the shy smile she gave Sara. The blonde shakes the image off before adding, "She did nothing wrong. I was the one who initiated it all. I was the one who invited her to your home that day and I was the one who kissed her."

She pauses, gathering the way her mother's eyes shift from confusion to anger in a matter of seconds with every word coming out of Sara's mouth. The young girl smiles sadly at it, pondering on her next words, whether she should keep them to herself. She ends up saying them despite the consequences, "And if you hadn't showed up so soon, I would have gone all the way with her without a single ounce of regret."

"That's enough Sara!" The older woman yells as she gets up from her seat, "You're behaving like a brat! Saying all these things just to make me mad! Why do you always feel the need to defy me?! What do you expect to accomplish by being like this?"

"Mom, stop! I thought it would be a good idea for us to meet you as a way for you to apologize to Sara," Laurel finally speaks up as she is standing up, "I see now that I was sadly wrong. If you are not able to accept one of your daughters exactly as she is, then don't expect us to accept your relationship with Steve."

"Laurel, sweetie, you can't be serious," the older woman answers with disbelief in her tone, reaching out a hand to her daughter's arm.

Laurel shakes her mother's hand off of her before turning to face her with a glare, "You better believe it." She says with a firm voice.

After that she grabs her bag and turns to Sara, offering her left hand for the girl to take, "Come on Sara, let's get out of here."

Her sister nods and accepts the offered hand, letting herself get dragged outside the restaurant. As soon as they reach the car, Laurel shifts in the driver's seat to look at her. The blonde's body is sagged against the passenger's seat with her hands resting on her lap and her head bowed down, looking completely defeated.

Laurel reaches a hand out and places it on top of her sister's, "Sara, can you look at me please?"

It takes the younger girl a few seconds to do so but when she does she is met with concerned emerald eyes looking back at her glacier blues.

"I'm so sorry you had to hear all of that," her sister says with the most genuine regret in her voice, "If I knew mom was going to say such awful things I would never had pushed you to join us tonight."

Sara shrugs her shoulders, a frown still in place, "You had no way of knowing Laurel. Your intentions were good, that's all that matters."

"God Sara, I should have known better." Laurel sighs, shaking her head as she slumps into her seat.

"Seriously Laur, don't beat yourself over it." The blonde assures as she squeezes her sister's hand softly.

The older girl nods and squeezes Sara's hand back before letting go to place both her hands on the steering wheel.

"Alright buckle up little sis. I'm gonna take you to have some waffles and pancakes!" She says as she turns her head to look at her sister again, offering the blonde her trademark sweet smile, "Entirely on me!"

Her heart warms when Sara returns her smile with a smaller one. It is not the usual bright smile she loves to see on her sister's face, but it is close enough.

* * *

**Meanwhile at the Sharpes' Household**

Ava is sitting down on the floor in front of her brother in the young boy's room. Between them is a booklet with Pokémon cards all placed in a perfect order and next to it is a new packet still waiting to be open.

"When did you get this Caleb?"

He looks to where Ava is pointing for a second and quickly returns his attention to the booklet, turning some pages until he finds the one he was looking for.

"Mom got them for me today," he explains after chancing a glance at his sister's curious eyes. He holds her gaze for a couple of seconds before looking down again, "I wanted to open it right away but mom said it would be fun opening it with you and I agreed with her."

"Aww, buddy! That's really nice of you." Ava tells him with a bright smile on her face and her heart swells when she sees the timid smile on her brother's lips.

"Well I'm here now and I can't wait to see which cards you got!" She says excitedly while she moves to sit right next to him.

"Cool! Okay so I'm missing Arcanine, Alakazam, Ponyta..." Caleb starts to quickly enumerate, furrowing his eyebrows while he goes through the list in his head.

Ava finds it incredibly adorable, unable to keep a fond expression out of her face. She doesn't realize she got lost in her thoughts until she hears her brother's voice calling her name.

"Ava! Hey Ava! Did you listen to everything I said?" He asks while waving his small hand in front of the blonde's face.

"Sorry buddy, I spaced out." She admits, a slight frown placing itself on her face.

The boy shrugs his shoulders, "That's okay! I space out too, a lot. Doctor Jane and I have been working on it."

Ava reaches her hand out and cards her fingers through her brother's beautiful auburn curls, patting him gently on his head. He looks up at her and gives her a small smile, relaxing under her touch. Ever since he was a toddler the only way he could properly relax after a break down was by being snuggled up against Ava's side while she would caress his hair and hum a soft lullaby.

The both of them would eventually fall asleep side by side in each other's arms, leaving their parents in awe at their daughter's natural ability to take care of her little brother. As if it came from deep down, like an instinct she might have been born with. It clearly had to be that, their parents were sure of it. They also took it as an opportunity to snap some pictures of their kids being so cute together, seeing as neither Ava nor Caleb were big fans of having their photo being taken.

"Doctor Jane has been helping you a lot lately hasn't she?"

Caleb gave a short nod, "Yeah! She is really cool! Sometimes she lets me draw while we talk and she has a ton of colored pencils and crayons and sharpies also!"

"I'm glad you like her buddy. She does sound very cool," the blonde says before letting her hand fall to her side, "Now, are we opening this new packet of cards or not?"

Caleb nods and picks it up, tearing it open to drop the cards onto the floor. He spreads them all, focusing all of his attention on the Pokémon's figures there depicted.

His excitement falters when he realizes that he already has all of the cards, "This sucks!" He whines, crossing his arms against his chest, "I already have all of these!"

Ava's face falls but she tries not to show it, instead pulling up a hopeful smile on her lips, "Hey, it's okay Caleb! Maybe you can trade them with some of your friends?"

The boy shakes his head violently, "No Ava, you don't get it!" He exclaims angrily as his voice raises a bit, "I need to finish this collection today!"

"And why is that Caleb?" Ava asks while making sure she keeps her voice still and gentle.

Her brother stays in silence. As he brings his knees to his chest and wraps his arms around them, he starts to rock back and forth. Ava's heart clenches painfully at seeing her little brother like that, because she knows he is suffering and she hates it. However, even if it still hurts her to witness such behaviour, it's actually nothing new for her so she knows exactly how to deal with it.

She picks up the discarded cards and the booklet and places them all on top of the room's desk. Afterwards she makes her way over to her brother again, sitting right in front of him.

"Caleb?" She calls with a firm voice to get his attention, "Do you think you could look at me, please?" She waits in silence, giving her brother some time. When notices that the boy's body tenses even more and that he won't lift up his head to look at her any time soon, she changes her approach, "That's okay Caleb, you don't have to. Just answer me this, when were you born?"

"October 1st of 2009." He promptly replies with a shaky and muffled voice.

Ava nods, "Good. What does that make you?"

"A Libra." He stutters slightly.

"What about me?"

"January 7th of 2001. You're a Capricorn." The boy continues, slowing his body movements.

Her sister smiles at that, "Very well buddy. What about mom and dad?"

"Mom's a Sagittarius, born on December 8th of 1962," Caleb replies with an even voice this time, "And dad's an Aries, born on April 1st of 1960."

"That's right." Ava praises with the hope that that was enough to help her brother. She is proven right when the boy eventually stops moving after a couple of minutes and finally lifts up his head to look at her. His green eyes are watery, the recent storm still clearly evident in them and his face is red and puffy. Ava can tell that he is feeling ashamed just like he does every time he comes close to a meltdown.

"I'm sorry..." he mutters before burying his head on top of his knees and it feels like a dark hand with sharp claws is gripping Ava's heart to the point of excruciating pain.

She takes a deep breath bracing herself for what comes next, "Caleb? Do you think you could look at me this time, buddy?"

Her brother slowly lifts his head up again but quickly averts Ava's gaze by turning his head to the side.

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize," she assures him in a gentle voice, "But I would like to know why do you feel like you have to finish your collection today?" She asks carefully, observant to any kind of signal that might indicate that her brother is getting upset again. When she finds none she slowly releases the breath she had been holding.

"Do you think you can tell me?" She presses, trying to understand her brother better so she can help him get through whatever it is that he is feeling.

After a few beats of silence the little boy finally nods his head and speaks up, "I just..." He cuts himself off and Ava notices how much strength he is putting on his clenched fists. She fights the urge to reach out and take his hands in hers, not wanting to further upset him.

Instead she decides to change places so she can sit next to him, pressing her shoulder against Caleb's, "It's okay, just take your time," she chimes with a gentle smile but it quickly falters when she is faced with her brother's frown.

"It had to be today because I wanted to show you the whole collection as soon as it was completed."

Ava's shoulders sag at hearing the little boy's words, "I understand... But you know I won't get mad if you finish your collection and I'm not here to see it. Besides you can always show me next time you see me!" She suggests, trying to cheer him up.

Caleb shrugs his shoulders at his sister's suggestion, "It's not the same... It will never be the same."

"Well what about facetiming? I know I wouldn't be here next to you physically but at least I would get to see it." She tries once again and a small smile tugs at the corners of her lips when she notices Caleb's fists are no longer clenched and his hands are now instead simply resting on top of his knees.

"Yeah... I guess that could work."

"And that way I can see your little face and you can see mine!" Ava tells him accompanied with a bigger smile.

The boy looks at her with furrowed eyebrows, "Why would you want to see my face?"

"Because I love your adorable cheeks and cute little nose."

"You sound like mom right now..."

Ava scrunches up her nose as she asks, "I'm cooler than her though, right?"

Caleb gives her a tiny smirk, "Definitely!" He says followed by a single nod.

The blonde chuckles lightly and gently threads her fingers through his soft hair, moving it away so she can look into his bright green eyes, "You know Caleb... This is hard on me as well. It sucks not being able to see you every single day." The blonde admits in a small and sincere voice that has her brother looking at her with surprise.

"It does?" He asks still unsure of it and Ava resents the fragility she sees in his eyes, "Of course! I miss you so much buddy, even more than I miss mom and dad." She desperately tries to reassure him and relaxes a little bit when she sees his eyes sparkle, "You know you're my favourite Caleb, you've always been. Just don't tell mom and dad, they would be devastated." She says followed by a wink and a smirk, earning a small smile from her brother.

Their little moment gets interrupted when they notice someone suddenly standing by the door facing them.

"Hey there kids, what are you up to?" Their mother asks offering them a warm smile.

"Just chatting mom." Her eldest tells her returning the smile, "Caleb and I think that we should start facetiming each other while I'm at College."

"That's an excellent idea, I completely agree!" The older woman says, a bigger smile making its way to her face, "Now could you set the table for me, Ava? Your dad must be arriving from the clinic any minute now."

Ava readily gets up and takes the chance to stretch her arms and legs, "Sure thing mom!" She replies before making her way out of the room and downstairs, leaving her mother and brother behind.

Her mother thanks her and turns to her son, taking a few steps closer to him, "I thought I heard some noise coming from upstairs. Is everything okay sweetie?"

Caleb quickly lifts his head up and nods at the woman's question before asking, "Can I watch some cartoons before dad shows up?"

His mother purses her lips for a couple of seconds before her face breaks into a gentle smile, "Alright honey!" She says as she tilts her head to the hallway and turns on her heels to leave the bedroom along with her pleased son.

As they reach downstairs the boy walks into the living room and plops down on the spacious couch, grabbing the remote control to turn on the TV.

His mother on the other hand goes into the kitchen and offers a smile to her daughter as the girl finishes setting up the table, "Thanks for helping sweetie."

Ava shrugs her shoulders and smiles back at her, "No problem mom..." she says before taking a peek outside the kitchen to check if her brother is still on the couch. When she confirms that he is still paying close attention to the cartoons she lowers her voice while turning to face her mother again, "So Caleb told me about how his new doctor has been helping him out."

"Ah yes, Doctor Jane. She has been a blessing and a true support to him."

The blonde nods at that, "That's good to know mom but... Do you feel like he has been making any progresses?"

Her mother sighs at the question, leaning her back against the kitchen counter, "Ava, sweetheart, you know how it goes with Asperger's. It's a very slow and difficult process, but your dad and I are here for him. You don't have to worry about that anymore, all you have to do now is focus on College."

Ava frowns at the older woman's words, "Just because I'm away doesn't mean I stopped being his sister and care about him. I still want to know how he is doing-"

"Ava, please, that was not what I meant," her mother explains with a deep sigh, "Is this about what happened upstairs?" She asks and at her daughter's puzzled look the woman actually has to stop herself from rolling her eyes, "Honey come on I'm your mother. Do you really think I didn't notice how your brother looked upset? Besides I heard him slightly shouting at you."

Now it's Ava's time to sigh while she looks down at the floor, "He almost had a full meltdown because he didn't get the Pokémon cards that he needs to finish the collection and when I asked him why did he have to complete it tonight he told me it was because he wanted to show me the collection as soon as it was completed. So basically, I'm to blame for the state he was in."

Her mother's heart hurts at such words coming from her daughter's mouth and she instantly moves forward to hold her in her arms, "Oh sweetie... It is not your fault, you must know that. You can't blame yourself for moving on with your life Ava. You are working on your future and building your independence, which are both things you are totally allowed to do."

Ava returns the hug, sighing into her mother's comforting embrace, "I know mom... And I'm trying very hard to tell myself that. But I can't help the guilt that settles deep in me whenever I see how Caleb is missing me."

The older woman leans back to cup her daughter's face between her warm hands, "Honey, please remember this. Your dad and I are the ones responsible for him, not you. And I know, I realise now more than ever, that this dire need you have of taking care of Caleb is partially our fault because we've always relied too much on you to look out for him when we should have instead let you live your life freely without such a heavy burden on your shoulders."

Ava doesn't say anything in return, opting to let her mother's words sink in. After a couple of minutes she nods and mutters in the woman's ear as she hugs her one final time, "Thanks mom, I think I really needed to hear that."

They separate when they hear the front door open and close, indicating that the blonde's father is home. Both of them hear the man greet his younger son before he appears at the kitchen's entrance, "Ah! There's my beautiful daughter!" He greets with a huge smile as he walks closer to give her a side hug while planting a quick kiss on top of her head.

"Hey dad! How was your day?" Ava asks him with genuine interest at which he lets out a deep breath, "Stressful! I was swamped with patients as usual. You'll get to see what I mean when you start your first internship at the clinic." The man lets her know as she steps closer to his wife to greet her with a small peck on the lips.

"Dad I just started my first week of College..." she replies with a roll of her eyes that's betrayed by the smirk on her lips.

"I know, I know. As always, I am thinking ahead of time so let's leave this particular conversation for later," he says before turning to his wife again, "It smells really good honey. I'm just going to go upstairs quickly to change into something more comfortable so we can have dinner."

Ten minutes after and the four of them are sitting at the table each digging into their plates.

Ava hums softly at the first bite of her mother's food, breaking the silence that had settled between them all, "Mom this is amazing! I've missed your food so much." The girl says digging in more.

Her mother chuckles lightly at her daughter's confession, "I'm glad you're enjoying it, but is the food at the cafeteria that bad?" She asks with a hint of worry in her voice.

The blonde quickly shakes her head, "Not at all, but you know that when it comes to cooking no one comes close to you."

Her father laughs at that, "Your daughter makes a good point Cindy," he says, making his wife laugh along.

After a few more minutes in silence the man speaks again, "So, tell us honey, how was you first week of College?"

Ava swallows the bite of food she had taken before answering, "It was good, nothing too eventful," she tells them, remembering the events in her head before adding, "I met some friends of Sara, my roommate."

"Really? That's great sweetie!" Her mother reacts with a surprised smile, "You're getting along well with her I see."

The blonde nods her head at that, "Definitely! She is really nice and caring. And her friends Zari and Amaya are very nice people too, they even invited me to their house one night."

Her father looks at her curiously, "Oh, they don't live at the dorm?"

"Nope. They live together in an apartment close to campus. They decided that they would rent a place only to themselves once College started so they could be at ease as a couple." Ava explains and it's only when she sees the frown the man has on his face that she realizes what she has just told him.

"They are a couple you say? As in a gay couple?"

She swallows the lump that quickly settled in her throat, feeling her anxiety starting to take a hold of her. She stays in silence and averts her eyes from her father's gaze before replying, "Yeah... I mean, I don't know if they're both lesbians but they are together so..."

The man hums and silence falls once again between them, and Ava resorts to pushing her food around the plate due to her appetite being suddenly gone. She curses herself for having told such sensible information to her family, she should have known better by now.

Her mother's voice, however, has a slight soothing effect on her anxiety, "I'm sure they are lovely people Ava, I'm glad you are already meeting new people and possibly making friends."

Ava lifts up her head to look at the older woman, giving her a thankful smile, "Yeah mom, me too."

"Rachel has two moms instead of a mom and dad," Caleb, who had been quiet until then, states nonchalantly.

Ava's head whips in her brother's direction, "Rachel?! Your new friend Rachel?"

The boy looks at his sister weirdly, "Yes... Rachel from my class who is now my friend Rachel."

"I didn't know that, Caleb," their mother chimes in with a surprised look on her face, "So far I've only met Jules and she was very nice. I guess that means I've yet to meet her partner."

"Poor kid." Louis Sharpe chimes in shaking is head before taking a bite of his meal. When it seemed like the conversation was improving it quickly turned into a bitter one once again.

"What do you mean darling?" Cindy asks her husband and he is met with a frown as he turns his head at her, "Well you told me she jumped from one place to another until she ended up at our son's school right? My guess is that it was probably due to being bullied for having two moms. I don't get how a pair of full grown adults would subject a kid to such suffering."

Ava, who had been trying to keep herself together, suddenly feels a rage bubbling inside of her and can't help how sharp her words directed at her father come out, "Are you saying that it's her moms' fault?! The only ones guilty are the shitty kids who mocked her for simply having two parents who happen to be both a woman!"

"Ava, watch your language please." The older man warns, not even bothering to answer his daughter's question.

The blonde scoffs turning to her mother who is now sporting an apologetic expression, "Mom, can I be excused?" She asks and the older woman nods, an apologetic look on her face, "Yes honey, but please place your plate and silverware on the sink before you go."

Ava does as she is told and in less than two minutes she is out of the kitchen table and making her way upstairs. As soon as she enters her bedroom she closes the door behind her, clenching her jaw to prevent her from screaming in anger. She doesn't fully understand why her father's homophobic words affected her so much - maybe it's because she really enjoyed her time with Zari and Amaya and because they were so nice to her - but the truth is her heart is currently in pain and there's a burn in her chest she can't quite place. She was starting to let herself sank in the feeling of her crippling anxiety when she hears her phone ping, signalling a new text message. She walks over to her desk and picks it up, the burning in her chest less intense when she sees the name displayed on the screen. With a small smile she unlocks the device and opens the chat.

**Sara:** Hey Ava, what's up?

**Ava:** Hi Sara, just finished dinner. You?

**Sara**: Just lazing around in bed :)

**Ava:** Okay :)

Ava waits for a reply for a few seconds. When she gets none, she sits at her desk chair and places the phone next to her. Waiting for her laptop to turn on, she gets up and takes her camera from the bag she packed at the dorm and places it on top of the desk. Once the laptop is turned on she connects the camera to it and opens the most recent folder, the one who contains some photos she took during the car ride to College as well as the photos she took with Sara the first night they met. She starts going through the pictures, smiling at the shorter blonde's funny faces in some of them. Her anxiety starts to disappear slowly as it is replaced by a pleasant warmth inside her chest.

A couple minutes more and her phone pings again.

**Sara:** Is this a bad time for you?

**Ava:** Not at all... Do you need to talk?

**Sara:** ... I don't know, I don't wanna bother you.

**Ava:** Sara it's okay, really. I don't mind at all.

**Sara:** Okay... Can I call you then?

**Ava:** Of course :)

Sara does it after a couple of beats and Ava quickly picks it up.

"Hello, again." The taller blonde greets, earning her a light chuckle from Sara.

"_Hey Aves..." _her friend greets back before an awkward silence settles between them. Ava decides to give Sara some time and after a pause she eventually continues, _"So how was returning home?"_

"It was... Okay I guess." Ava provides with a shrug of her shoulders, "I get to hang out with my brother and eat my mom's wonderful cooking so that's good."

"_I sense a 'but' coming up..."_

The taller blonde sighs at Sara's comment, "Yeah, it's just... Dinner was going really well, I was telling them about you, Zari and Amaya, and they were happy to know that I'm making friends. But as soon as I told them that Zari and Amaya are a couple my father's whole demeanour changed; and not for the better."

"_Shit... I'm sorry about that."_

"And it actually got worse."

"_How come?"_

"Well my brother recently made a new friend and apparently the girl has two moms and my dad's immediate reaction was taking pity on the kid and blaming her moms for being bullied at school."

"_What the hell?! How can he say that? It's the others kids fault for being mean, not the moms'!"_

"That's exactly what I told my dad! But he completely ignored me and instead chose to focus on the fact that I let out a curse word at the table." Ava tells Sara while rolling her eyes.

She hears the other blonde scoff at the end of the line, _"Geez Ava, I know he's your dad but he has got some nerve..."_

"I know... I couldn't listen to it anymore so I simply asked to be excused from the table and left."

"_Yeah I would have done the same thing, except the 'asking to be excused' bit. I would have just gotten up and walked away."_

Ava smirks at imagining the scene, "Yeah I can totally see that happening. I wish I had the guts to do it sometimes."

"_Maybe you do have it in you, you just haven't tried it yet."_

"Hm... Maybe."

They stay in silence after that, to the point of Ava briefly wondering if Sara had hung up the phone on her. Her doubts are put to a rest when the blonde speaks again.

"_So remember how I told you I was having dinner with my mom tonight?"_

"I do. How did that go?" Ava asks and when she hears her friend sigh at the question she wishes she could be by her side.

"_It was a shit-show. Turns out she's gonna marry her boyfriend and she just wanted Laurel and I to know and to be present at the wedding. I, obviously, immediately said no."_

"Damn Sara, that sucks... I don't even know what to say."

"_That's okay Aves, you don't have to say anything."_

"I imagine she didn't take it very well when you said 'no'?"

Sara lets out a bitter chuckle, _"That would be correct. And she didn't even have the decency of apologizing to me. She still insists that I did what I did to provoke her."_

"Geez, what did you? Robbed a bank or something?" Ava asks in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"_She caught me making out with another girl when I went to spend last summer at her house."_

The tall blonde's eyes go wide at the revelation, "Oh. I didn't- are you gay?"

She blushes at hearing her roommate's light laughter on the other side of the line, _"I'm bisexual actually, so I go both ways. But I do have a preference for girls."_

Ava's blush just gets deeper at Sara's honesty, "I see..." she replies, cursing inside at how raspy her voice became in those last few minutes.

"_What about you?"_

"What about me?" Ava repeats confused and gets a small chuckle in return.

"_What do you like Aves? Or better yet, who do you like?" _Sara asks tentatively.

The taller blonde thinks about the question for a while. If she is being completely honest, she was never really fond of anyone to the point of wanting to date them and do other things. But she always assumed she was straight, after all, that is the rule. And if there is one thing she is good at is following the rules.

"I like... Boys, I guess?" She half-answers half-questions.

"_Are you asking me or telling me?" _Sara's voice has an amused tilt to it and Ava feels herself get nervous. She groans before answering again.

"I just never really liked anyone before. I know how to appreciate beauty in others and sometimes I'm attracted to certain people, but never enough to want something more..." She admits followed by a small sigh as she runs her free hand through her blonde hair, "Does that make sense?"

"_I guess so. I mean, you're still young. You have time to figure it all out Aves. Don't feel bad for not being sure. Most people don't realize it but sexuality is actually a pretty complicated thing. It's not all black and white as many people like to believe and preach that it is."_

Ava stays in silence for a while, absorbing and reflecting on Sara's words.

"Thanks Sara. That's... That's actually very wise."

"_And also helpful, I hope?"_

"Yes, that too. Thanks," a smile tugs at the corners of Ava's lips before a question pops in her head. She ponders on whether she should ask it or not, but her curiosity gets the best of her.

"Hey Sara?"

"_Yes?"_

"When did... When did you find out you liked girls too?"

Sara lets out a breath of air before replying, _"I think deep down I always knew it... I just didn't know what it was, exactly. It wasn't until my third year of high school that I fully realized what those feelings were."_

"I see. So then you told your family about it?"

"_I told Laurel and dad, but I didn't tell my mom. She only found out because she literally caught me in the act and you already know how that story goes."_

Ava grimaces, imagining what it would feel like to be caught by her parents while she was with someone. The thought alone leaves her stomach churning and sends an unpleasant shiver down her spine. She shakes the feeling away and continues, "What do your dad and sister think about it?"

"_Oh they're cool with it, as long as I respect the same house rules as Laurel. Which means 'the door to your bedroom stays open at all times'!" _She says with a deep mocking voice - probably imitating her father - Ava figures as she laughs at her.

"I'm glad you at least have their support."

"_Me too Aves. And thanks for listening to me rambling about my problems."_

Ava shrugs her shoulders and smiles, "It's no problem Sara, you can always count on me. Besides, you listened to me too so I guess we're even."

Sara laughs at that, _"I guess we are," _she says followed by a yawn, _"Sorry... I think the stress from tonight is taking its toll on me. I think it's best if I just go to bed, if you don't mind?"_

"Of course not! Go, sleep. I'll probably do the same in a while, I was just looking through the photos we took together. Remember those?"

"_How could I forget? We looked so good! I'm still waiting for you to give me a printed one."_

"Yes, yes! I'll get right to it this weekend but first I want to work on them with _Lightroom_."

"_I have no idea what that is but if it makes me look prettier then go right ahead!"_

"Pfft! As if you needed a photo editor to look good."

"_Ava Sharpe, was that a compliment to my person?"_

Ava smirks as she imagines Sara's smug smile and challenging bright eyes, "Maybe."

"_I'm gonna take that as a yes. You know you're not so bad yourself." _Sara tells her and she immediately feels her cheeks burn at the flirtatious tone in the blonde's voice. She lets out a nervous snort before firing back, "Shut up."

"_I'm just telling it how it is Aves. But enough chatting, I really need to sleep."_

"Okay Sara, have a good night."

"_You too Aves."_

As soon as Sara hangs up, Ava lets out a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. Her eyes move from her phone to the laptop screen in front of her. There's an opened photo of the both of them where Sara has her arm wrapped with Ava's and the latter can't help but smile fondly at the bright and easy smile her friend is sporting. Her gaze roams around the shorter blonde's face, and she catches herself trying to taking it all in. The millions of tiny freckles that cover her entire skin, the way her beautiful blue eyes look so much like the arctic ocean that Ava doesn't even care if she would freeze by taking a dive in them. Or the way Sara's plump lips look so rosy and inviting, how soft they must feel to the touch. She suddenly has an urge to reach out her hand and places her fingers on top of the laptop screen, right where her friend's mouth is. She traces the girl's lips shape with her thumb, wondering what it would be like to touch the real ones. Her heart starts to beat faster and something new and pleasant settles inside her stomach.

Ava's mind wanders off to what happened earlier in the day, when she was still at the dorm with Sara. How she was comforting her friend and then next thing she knows they were mere inches away and she couldn't help but drop her gaze to the smaller blonde's lips. What would have happened if they hadn't been interrupted by Sara's phone? Would they have kissed? And if so, what would that mean?

Ava shakes the thoughts away as she feels a headache coming her way. She runs both hands through her hair before rubbing her face to muffle the sigh that escapes her mouth.

She decides to turn off her laptop and call it a night. As soon as she is changed into her pyjamas she gets under the covers, turning off the small lamp on her bedside table and after five minutes she eventually starts to fall asleep.

* * *

**AN: And this is it. I hope you enjoyed it. If you need to talk or have something to point out feel free to leave a comment or reach me at my socials:**

**Twitter: AlexaCondesso**  
**Tumblr: fromthewateririse**


	9. Chapter 9 - Good Decisions

**AN: Hey there! I'm sorry it took me so long to publish a new chapter. The beginning of this one will have the same phone chat from last chapter, except this time it's from Sara's POV. **

**I hope you enjoy it! :)**

* * *

**CHAPTER 9**

Sara and Laurel get home around 9 P.M. Their father isn't home yet, which means he probably got held up late at the Police Department. After telling her sister that she needs some rest, Sara goes up to her bedroom and closes the door behind her. As soon as she spots her bed, she plops front-down on the inviting mattress but regrets it immediately, letting out a grunt of discomfort. It seems that landing on her stomach after stuffing herself with a stack of six pancakes, and some bites of Laurel's waffle, might not have been her brightest idea. She turns to lay on her back instead, rubbing her stomach soothingly. She closes her eyes, enjoying the silence and comfort her room provides. She tries to let herself rest, but she can't stop her mind from wandering. Her head is replaying the awful conversation she had with her mother just a few hours prior.

Sara clenches her jaw forcefully, trying not to let the swirl of emotions that is quickly forming get the best of her.

She attempts to reflect on other things and her mind immediately lands on the other subject that has been bothering her. The way she reacted to Ava getting along well with Nate. One minute she was fine and enjoying her conversation with Ava and the next thing she knew, a bad feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach and overwhelmed her. She still doesn't fully understand what happened, and why she had felt the need to get out of there as soon as possible.

And then, to make matters worse, she was even rude to Ava once she got back to the dorm. All her friend had wanted was to understand what had happened, because her eyes held nothing but worry.

So Sara ended up giving the first excuse that came to mind by bringing up the night of the party. Which in her understanding, it wasn't exactly a lie, but it also wasn't the full truth.

Thankfully, she was able to apologize for her behavior. She was also lucky enough to have Ava forgiving her, which took some of the pressure off of her chest over the last few days.

And then, once again, she had Ava listening attentively while she talked about her complicated relationship with her mother and how hard it was accepting the fact that she would be facing her in person soon. As she let it all out, Ava had been nothing short of incredible, letting her seek literal comfort in her arms. But as always, Sara almost took it too far.

Her train of thought zeroes in on the moment that she leaned back from Ava's embrace but kept hold of her gaze, only releasing it to focus on Ava's lips instead. Plump and inviting lips that left her traitorous and greedy heart begging her to close the distance and allow her a taste. So she started to lean in closer. For a couple of seconds, she felt like Ava was leaning in too, like she wasn't the only one wanting this to happen.

Unfortunately it was over as quickly as it began, her own phone interrupting the moment and showing that Ava's intentions weren't the same. The way her friend scrambled to get up and out of their shared room was proof enough of that.

Ava didn't seem mad at her, which was good. And she even told Sara that she could call her anytime during the weekend if she felt like venting to someone. But despite all of that, one thing was obvious to Sara; Ava definitely didn't have any intention of kissing her at that moment. And even if it had happened, their still new and oh so fragile friendship would have been ruined in a matter of seconds.

And that's what Sara holds on to, their friendship. A friendship that she would like to see grow even stronger as time goes on. She decides that confiding in Ava like the girl had told her she could, will be a good start for them to grow closer. She ponders on whether she should call Ava or not before grabbing her phone and unlocking it to check the time. She figures that it's still early enough, so surely her friend won't be asleep yet.

Even so, Sara prefers to text her first, just to make sure she won't be bothering her and interrupting whatever she might be doing at the moment. After a few texts back and forth she sends another one asking if she can call her. As soon as she gets the okay from Ava, Sara dials her number, smiling at how quickly she picks up.

"_Hello, again."_ The taller blonde greets, earning her a light chuckle from Sara.

"Hey Aves..."she responds. An awkward silence settles between them as Ava decides to give Sara some time to collect her thoughts. After a slight pause, she eventually continues, "So how was returning home?"

"_It was... Okay I guess,"_ Ava provides. _"I get to hang out with my brother and eat my mom's wonderful cooking, so that's good."_

"I sense a 'but' coming up..."

Sara detects a small sigh from the taller blonde for her comment.

"_Yeah, it's just... Dinner was going really well, I was telling them about you, Zari and Amaya, and they were happy to know that I'm making friends. But as soon as I told them that Zari and Amaya are a couple, my father's whole demeanor changed; and not for the better."_

Sara's eyes widen at the revelation as she feels a strange wave of guilt. "Shit... I'm sorry about that."

"_And it actually got worse."_

She swallows before forcing herself to ask, "How come?"

"_Well my brother recently made a new friend and apparently the girl has two moms and my dad's immediate reaction was taking pity on the kid and blaming her moms for being bullied at school."_

And just like that, Sara's guilt easily shifts into rage.

"What the hell?! How can he say that? It's the others kids fault for being mean, not the moms'!" She says this while raising her voice, throwing her free hand in the air.

"_That's exactly what I told my dad! But he completely ignored me and instead chose to focus on the fact that I let out a curse word at the table."_

Sara scoffs at that. "Geez Ava, I know he's your dad but he has got some nerve..."

"_I know... I couldn't listen to it anymore so I simply asked to be excused from the table and left."_

Sara nods at Ava's words, even though her sympathetic movements will go unseen. "Yeah I would have done the same thing, except the _'asking to be excused'_ bit. I would have just gotten up and walked away."

She hears Ava chuckle at her words.

"_Yeah I can totally see that happening. I wish I had the guts to do it sometimes."_

Sara smiles, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe you do have it in you, you just haven't tried it yet."

"_Hm... Maybe."_

They sit in silence after that, and for a couple of beats Sara feels herself starting to cower on the prospect of telling Ava about how the whole chat with her mom went. She definitely _**wants **_to, but she doesn't know if she's prepared to share something so private so soon. On the other hand, she also doesn't want to be bothering Ava with her problems. She eventually comes to the conclusion that Ava has been pretty open with her about private stuff the last few days. Why shouldn't she do the same?

With one last hesitating breath, she decides to share. "So, remember how I told you I was having dinner with my mom tonight?"

"_I do. How did that go?"_ Sara sighs in response before recalling what happened.

"It was a shit-show. Turns out she's gonna marry her boyfriend and she just wanted Laurel and I to know and to be present at the wedding. I, obviously, immediately said no."

"_Damn Sara, that sucks... I don't even know what to say."_

A smile flashes across the smaller blonde's face at Ava's effort in trying to comfort her. Even if it is through the phone.

"That's okay Aves, you don't have to say anything."

"_I imagine she didn't take it very well when you said 'no'?"_

Sara releases a bitter chuckle, "That would be correct. And she didn't even have the decency of apologizing to me. She still insists that I did what I did to provoke her."

"_Geez, what did you do? Robbed a bank or something?"_ Ava asks in an attempt to lighten the mood.

If Sara wasn't so bothered by the situation, she would have actually laughed. Instead, she decides to stop tiptoeing around the subject and finally be upfront about it. "She caught me making out with another girl when I went to spend last summer at her house."

The call goes silent after that and the smaller blonde can't help but regret sharing the information. Thankfully, Ava's voice soon sounds through the line once again.

"_Oh. I didn't- are you gay?"_

Sara laughs lightly at the way Ava reacts to it. If she had to guess, she would bet that Ava is probably blushing by now. She eventually speaks again, "I'm bisexual actually, so I go both ways. But I do have a preference for girls."

"_I see..."_ comes the reply, and Sara raises her eyebrows, pleasantly surprised at how raspy Ava's voice has suddenly become. She decides to tease her a little bit.

"What about you?"

"_What about me?"_ Ava repeats, confused, and Sara chuckles in return.

"What do you like, Aves? Or better yet, who do you like?"Sara asks tentatively, because she does like teasing Ava, but she doesn't necessarily want to upset her by prying too much. Although, she can't help the feeling that starts to grow inside of her, almost like a flicker of hope. Hope that Ava might give her an answer similar to hers.

A longer silence than the previous one falls among them, and Sara was already accepting that she wouldn't get a straight answer to her question, or worse, that Ava would hang up on her, when her friend finally replies.

"_I like... Boys, I guess?"_

"Are you asking me or telling me?"Sara's voice has an amused lilt to it, but she can't help the way that tiny flicker of hope vanishes and is replaced by disappointment. She tries to shake the feeling away when she hears Ava's groan, followed by an answer.

"_I just never really liked anyone before. I know how to appreciate beauty in others and sometimes I'm attracted to certain people, but never enough to want something more..."_ she admits before letting out a small sigh, _"Does that make sense?"_

Sara lets her words sink in before replying. She doesn't want to overwhelm Ava with too much talk about sexuality, or worse, make her feel pressured; as if she had to give her a straight answer right away when she seems to still be discovering herself.

She briefly ponders on which words to use, before finally replying.

"I guess so. I mean, you're still young. You have time to figure it all out, Aves. Don't feel bad for not being sure. Most people don't realize it, but sexuality is actually a pretty complicated thing. It's not all black and white as many people like to believe and preach that it is."

Ava stays silent for a while, absorbing and reflecting on Sara's words.

"_Thanks Sara. That's... That's actually very wise."_

Sara's face breaks into a content smile, "And also helpful, I hope?"

"_Yes, that too. Thanks."_

The line goes silent again and Sara tries to come up with something to fill it, but nothing comes to mind. Fortunately, Ava's voice breaks through.

"_Hey Sara?"_

"Yes?"

"_When did... When did you find out you liked girls too?"_

Sara lets out a breath of air before replying, thinking she might as well be fully honest at this point, "I think deep down I always knew it... I just didn't know what it was, _**exactly**_. It wasn't until my third year of high school that I fully realized what those feelings were."

"_I see. So then you told your family about it?"_

Sara thinks back on it, on how the whole process unfolded at the time.

"I told Laurel and dad, but I didn't tell my mom. She only found out because she literally caught me in the act and you already know how that story goes."

"_What do your dad and sister think about it?"_

"Oh, they're cool with it, as long as I respect the same house rules as Laurel. Which means 'the door to your bedroom stays open at all times'!"She says with a deep mocking voice in an attempt to imitate her father and she smiles when she manages to make Ava laugh.

"_I'm glad you at least have their support."_

"Me too, Aves. And thanks for listening to me rambling about my problems."

"_It's no problem Sara, you can always count on me. Besides, you listened to me too so I guess we're even."_

Sara laughs at that. "I guess we are." Her words are quickly followed by a yawn she can't suppress, leaving her blushing a little bit. "Sorry... I think the stress from tonight is taking its toll on me. I think it's best if I just go to bed, if you don't mind?"

"_Of course not! Go, sleep. I'll probably do the same in a while, I was just looking through the photos we took together. Remember those?"_

Sara's heart suddenly jumps with excitement and a fond smile makes its way to her face. "How could I forget? We looked so good! I'm still waiting for you to give me a printed one."

"_Yes, yes! I'll get right to it this weekend but first I want to work on them with Lightroom."_

"I have no idea what that is, but if it makes me look prettier then go right ahead!"

"_Pfft! As if you needed a photo editor to look good."_

Sara smirks at Ava's words. "Ava Sharpe, was that a compliment to my person?"she asks, amusement evident in her voice.

"_Maybe."_

"I'm gonna take that as a yes. You know, you're not so bad yourself,"Sara tells her, her voice dropping to a husky tone. She hears Ava let out a nervous snort before firing back, _"Shut up."_

"I'm just telling it how it is, Aves. But enough chatting, I really need to sleep."

"_Okay Sara, have a good night."_

"You too Aves."

And with those last words, their conversation ends. A smile stays fixed on Sara's face, and she makes a mental note of adding a photo of Ava's to her contacts. She thinks about how happy she is with herself for having made the good decision of calling her friend. Then her smile widens as she imagines Ava going through the photographs they took together that first day and an unfamiliar but welcoming warmth spreads through her chest. She thinks about how the whole week has been, how much she already shared with Ava in such a small time.

It's like Sara can just be her true self around her, almost as much as she can with her long-time friends, Zari and Amaya. She never felt this much at ease so quickly with someone she has just met. They still have so many things to learn about one another, and yet, they already have an easiness between them that is usually only found between people who have known each other for years.

Her mind wanders even further, back to their early morning at the dorm room when Ava was comforting Sara. How she placed her long arm around Sara's shoulders almost immediately, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And Sara easily fell into it, quickly laying her head on her friend's shoulder.

Later that night, when Sara is lying in her bed, she thinks about how the conversation with her mother unfolded and how she had thought she would be feeling worse about it. She still feels sad for how it went down, of course, but somehow, being able to vent about it with Ava had helped, and a lot more than she was expecting. The discussion with her mother slowly moves to the back of Sara's mind as she drifts off to sleep, a smile on her lips as she lets herself think of Ava.

* * *

Ava is in their dorm room, resting against her bed's headboard as she scrolls through her phone, eyebrows knitted in concentration. However, her attention quickly shifts to the door as she hears Sara return to the dorm after her last class of the day. As she enters the place, her voice can be heard through the room.

"Mhm, I can't believe I'm finally home!" she says, her back turned on Ava as she locks the door behind her. "I'm in serious need of some Netflix."

As she turns around, her eyes land on Ava who is looking at her with eyes wide, a deep blush on her cheeks as if she has just been caught doing something naughty. Sara's eyes then land on the phone between her hands, screen down against her chest.

"Aves? What were you doing?"

"Nothing!" Ava replies rather quickly.

Sara smirks as she walks up to Ava's bed.

"Really?" she teases, her arms crossed against her chest. "Then why do you look like you've just been caught red-handed?"

"I- I didn't," Ava stutters. "I was just checking my schedule for tomorrow."

"Yeah?" Sara asks, uncrossing her arms before crawling on the bed until she's straddling Ava's lap. "You won't mind me checking then?"

Ava gulps, the sudden proximity making her nervous as she clutches the phone closer to her chest. "No need for that," she eventually stutters out, her cheeks getting redder by the second.

Sara grabs the hand holding the device while her left hand moves down to Ava's side, tickling her until she is left squirming. As her hold on the device loosens, Sara takes the chance to take it from Ava's hands.

"Ah-ha!" Sara shouts victoriously, her fist in the air.

Ava's mouth forms a pout, her eyes pleading. "Come on Sara, give it back…" She makes a grab for her phone, but Sara quickly hides it behind her back while she leans away from Ava.

As Sara finally looks down at the phone, her eyes promptly scan the screen. _"Lesbian kissing… How to kiss a girl?"_ She starts to read the first couple web results out loud until her head snaps back to Ava, her eyebrows raised in a silent question.

Ava is too busy hiding her face between her hands to notice Sara's questioning look.

"Why did you have to read it out loud?" Ava whines, and although a bit muffled, Sara can still understand it.

She places the phone down and moves to straddle Ava's lap once more, which only makes her roommate more flustered.

Placing each one of her hands on top of Ava's, Sara softly asks, "Hey, Aves, can you come out of hiding?"

"No..." Ava mouths against her hands, shaking her head.

A chuckle escapes Sara, but she keeps insisting. She takes hold of Ava's hands and moves them away gently. As she plants her lips on Ava's forehead, the girl hides her face in the crook of Sara's neck, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Sara's arms go around her back, enveloping her in a warm hug. Ava relishes the feeling, but somehow, it feels wrong. Something feels out of place.

After a couple of seconds, Sara says, "You know, if you wanted to know more about that all you had to do was ask. I would have gladly shown you-"

Ava slaps Sara's arm. "Shut up!" she whines, although she can't stop the pleasant flutter in her lower belly at the suggestion.

Sara can't help but giggle. "Come on," she coos, "Can you look at me? Let me see that beautiful face of yours."

_Since when does Sara call me 'beautiful' so easily? _Ava thinks, before she inevitably has to lean back when Sara starts to playfully poke her waist, tickling her until she is a squirming mess. Ava eventually surrenders and has no choice but to face Sara.

"You're a jerk," she mumbles with a pout.

Sara smiles cheekily at her. "A lovable jerk, though, right?"

Ava rolls her eyes at that but can't help the smirk that tugs at the corners of her lips. "I guess…"

"But let's get back on the subject," Sara says as she tucks a strand of hair behind Ava's ear. "You don't need to be embarrassed about it, Aves. It's perfectly normal to get curious."

"Okay." Ava slowly nods as she gets lost in the cool azure of Sara's eyes.

"But I would still have preferred if you asked me about it. You know you can trust me," Sara admits, her voice now more serious.

Ava frowns at that. "It's not that I don't trust you Sara, I was just embarrassed about it. I didn't want you to see me as some kind of loser. I mean… You have so much experience and I have… _None_."

"Aves, you are anything but a loser. And certainly not because of that." Sara cups Ava's face in assurance as her thumbs stroke her still crimson cheeks.

"You really mean it?"

"Of course I do, baby." The term of endearment surprises Ava, sounding weird coming from her friend's mouth. But before she can react to it, Sara is leaning in, closing the little space that's still left between them as her lips touch Ava's in a gentle kiss. Her mouth moves slowly against Ava's, almost like she is afraid the taller girl would break under her touch. Yet Ava feels like she has never experienced anything better as a pleasant warmth runs from her lips to the tips of her toes, igniting a fire in its passage. As her initial shock passes, she starts to kiss Sara back, reveling in the feeling of the blonde's soft lips against hers and how their mouths seem to fit so well together. When they part, Ava can't help the whine that comes out of her, leaving her smiling sheepishly at Sara, whose face is lit up by a charming dimpled smile, her beautiful blue eyes shining brighter than ever at her with a gentleness that leaves Ava melting.

Sara's mouth starts to move, forming words she can't quite understand. "Wake up, Ava."

Ava blinks slowly, still trying to figure out what just happened, "What?"

"I said wake up." She hears that voice again and suddenly Sara is gone and she is left surrounded by only darkness.

As her eyes start to flutter open, she realizes she is in her room at home.

"Ava." This time she can clearly tell that it's her brother's voice, the sound coming from her left. She reaches out to her nightstand and turns on the small lamp.

"Caleb. Hey, buddy," Ava rasps, reaching for her water bottle to take a quick sip. "What's up? Can't sleep?" She gets a shake of the head in return. She can't help but smile fondly at her little brother's figure, dressed in his favorite Pikachu pajamas as he clings tightly to an Eevee plush Ava had gotten him for his birthday last year. It had immediately become his inseparable nighttime companion, especially now that Ava wasn't around as much.

She scoots over to her right and pulls the covers down so her brother can climb up. He promptly does, snuggling to her side. "I had a nightmare." He mumbles as his little arm holding the plush goes around his sister's waist - leaving the toy resting on Ava's right side - while he places his head close to her chest. Ava's left hand quickly rests against his head so she can thread her fingers through his auburn curls. He nuzzles closer to her, his hold on her waist tightening as she pulls the covers back up to cover both of them.

She sighs and moves her free hand to rest on top of his arm, tracing gentle circles there. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Caleb shakes his head, a pout forming on his lips. Ava's eyes flutter shut and after a few minutes she is almost falling back asleep when her brother asks, "Were you dreaming about school?"

Ava frowns, her hand stilling against his head. "No. Why do you ask?"

He leans back a couple of inches so he can look up at her. "You were saying Sara's name."

Her eyes open wide at her brother's words, and she feels embarrassed as she remembers the exact content of her very recent dream. She clears her throat to compose herself, but Caleb's inquiring green eyes are still fixed on her. She tries to come up with a good explanation but can't think of anything and it's obvious that she can't tell him the truth either.

"You know what, maybe I was dreaming about school. I just can't remember anymore."

"Okay," he whispers. It seems to be enough of an explanation for him, as he returns to rest on Ava's chest.

Silence falls between them once again, and after a moment Caleb eventually gets to sleep. Once Ava is sure that he is soundly asleep, she reaches over to her nightstand and turns off the lamp. In the darkness of the room, she recounts the very vivid dream she had, over and over in her head.

She can't shake the feeling of dream Sara's lips against her own, even as she finally succumbs to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10 - Ice Cream and Advices

**AN: Finally, new chapter! I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

**CHAPTER 10**

Ava wakes up with her mother's voice softly calling her, coming from someplace near. Upon opening her eyes, she realizes that the older woman is sitting down on the bed, looking down at her with a fond smile. As Ava follows her mother's line of sight, she understands the reason of the fondness on Cindy's face. Her little brother, Caleb, is sleeping peacefully, his semblance unusually relaxed.

"I missed seeing him like this," Ava admits and her mother's eyes shift to her. "I know honey, I've missed it too."

Both women stay in silence for a couple more seconds, simply admiring the peace on the young boy's face as he is lost in the land of dreams. Cindy sighs before running her left hand through Ava's hair, gently cupping her cheek. "What do you say you help me with breakfast? I was thinking about making some chocolate chip pancakes."

Her daughter's face breaks into a bright smile. "Yes, please. I would kill for some of those right now."

Cindy laughs at the young woman's excitement. "Let's go then. We can wake up your brother when they're ready."

After ten minutes Ava has the first portion of batter in the pan, waiting for it to solidify. Her mother is leaning against the counter next to her. She is looking at Ava with a knowing look, seeing that her daughter does not seem alright.

"Darling, tell me what's wrong?"

Ava moves her gaze away from the pan to face her mother. "What do you mean?"

Cindy raises her eyebrows before speaking. "Ava, you're wearing a deep frown and have been awfully quiet since last night. Clearly something must have happened?"

The blonde clenches her jaw, recalling the conversation at dinner. Her father's words keep playing over and over again in her mind, which prompts her to ask the question. "Did you know that Dad was homophobic?"

Now it is her mother's turn to frown. The older woman adopts a straight posture, her body no longer leaning against the counter. "Nonsense, honey, your dad isn't homophobic. He's just old-fashioned," she says, trying to dismiss the subject.

Ava feels a small hint of rage forming in the pit of her stomach and turns to her mother. "_Old-fashioned_? That's a very lame excuse, mom! As soon as Caleb mentioned Rachel's moms he immediately criticized them."

Her mother waves her hand. "No, he was just quick to judge. He didn't really mean it."

At this point, Ava's anger is going through the roof. "He didn't mean it?!" she scoffs, throwing her hands in the air. "Well he sure has a very strange way of showing it, doesn't he?" she says before turning to the stove again, shutting it off.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going for a run, I need to clear my head," Ava grumbles, stepping out of the kitchen towards the stairs.

"What-" Cindy follows after her through the hallway. "Sweetheart, come on! You're overreacting. What about breakfast?"

"I've lost my appetite!" Ava shouts before entering her bedroom to change into a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. She closes the door carefully behind her, trying not to disturb her brother's sleep.

When she is back downstairs and on her way to the front door, her mother stops her. "Ava, please stay for breakfast. You shouldn't go running on an empty stomach."

Ava looks at the older woman, sighing before making her way to the kitchen. She grabs a banana from the fruit bowl and turns on her heels once more, quickly making her way out of the door.

* * *

**Meanwhile at the Lance's Household**

"Sara!" The blonde groans at the loud voice calling for her. She turns to lay on her stomach, placing her pillow on top of her ears in a vain attempt to muffle the noise. A second later there is someone climbing the stairs in a hurry, walking towards her room. Her door is opened in a rush and the sudden noise almost gives her a headache.

There's an extra weight on her bed not long after and right after someone is pulling the covers from her, leaving her warm body exposed to the cold.

"C'mon Sara! You slept all morning, time to get up!" Her sister's voice sounds more annoying than usual.

Sara groans once again, turning around to look at her with one eye open. "Go away…" she asks, waving her hand at Laurel.

The older woman snorts at that and insists. "You promised you would go shopping with me!" she insists in a whiney voice.

Sara sighs, rubbing her face. "Laur… please take pity on me. It's Saturday and my first weekend off college."

Laurel pouts, laying down next to her sister and placing her head on her shoulder. "Please? It's no fun going alone. I'll buy you lunch wherever you like. Oh! We can go to that new sushi place you wouldn't shut up about."

Sara ponders on that for a couple of seconds. "Hm… Sushi does sound good," she says out loud before turning to her sister. She sighs at her pleading eyes before finally replying. "Fine. I'll go shopping with you."

"Yas!" Laurel celebrates, jumping off the bed. "Don't take too long getting dressed! And bring comfortable clothing because we're going to be walking, a lot. I want to check every store."

Sara can already imagine the boredom, but she tries to focus on lunch. Besides, it will also be nice to spend some time with her sister. She has missed it ever since Laurel started college two years ago, and now that she has also started college, she knows that it will be harder and harder for them to hang out.

They had been going around for two hours already, talking about everything and anything, when Laurel finally asked, "So, how is it going living with a roommate?"

Sara shrugged her shoulders. "It's going well, I guess. Not that much different than living with you," she tells her, eyes focused on a bomber jacket she grabbed from the rack.

Laurel stops looking at some jeans so she can look at her sister. "Ahm… I think it's a little different, sis. We both always had our own rooms."

"Yeah, but… I don't know. Ava and I respect each other's space. She doesn't make noise, I don't make noise. We clean up our own messes and we don't disturb study time."

Laurel's lips tug into a smirk. "It seems that you got lucky with your roommate."

Sara can't help the little smile that appears on her face. "Yeah, guess I did," she says, her cheeks reddening at the thought of what almost happened between them. Or what she _**thinks **_almost happened.

Laurel's curiosity suddenly peaks, but she knows that a clothing store isn't the best place to get something out of her sister. She needs to keep her distracted so she changes tactics.

"Hey, I'm pretty hungry already. What do you say we go for that sushi?"

"Finally! I thought you'd never ask," Sara tells her, making them both laugh.

Fifteen minutes later and they are seated at the restaurant, each enjoying their meals.

"Mhm… I hadn't had this good of a sushi in a while," Sara tells her, a happy smile on her face as she munches on a piece of california roll.

"I have to agree with you, this is delicious." Laurel nods before adding, "So… Tell me about Ava."

"What about her?" Sara asks before reaching for her glass of lemonade, taking a sip of the fresh drink.

"Has something happened between you yet?"

Sara barely avoids choking on her drink, placing the glass back on the table before clearing her throat. She reaches for her napkin to clean her mouth before speaking. "Do you have a crystal ball or something?"

Laurel's eyes go wide at that, smiling like a Cheshire cat. "Ah! So I was right! Oh my gosh, tell me everything!"

"Well-"

Laurel lifts her right hand up. "Wait! Not everything. I don't need to know all the details of my little sister having sex."

Now it's Sara's time to be shocked. "What- what the hell are you talking about, Laur? Nothing happened between us, nothing like that," she says, running a hand through her blushing face.

Laurel frowns at that. "Okay, I'm lost here. What exactly happened?"

Sara sighs before letting her hand fall to the table. She fidgets with her fingers nervously while she tries to find the words. "Well… I don't even know where to start."

Laurel immediately realizes that the subject is weighing on her sister so she reaches a hand out to Sara's, squeezing softly.

"Hey, you don't need to tell me if you don't want to, but I can tell that it's bothering you, so maybe it would be good to tell someone."

Sara gives her a thankful smile. "No, I want to tell you. I just feel stupid about it."

"Sara, come on, you're my little sister. We've been through a lot together, whatever it is I'm not gonna judge you. You know that, little bird."

Sara's chest warms at the pet name and it gives her the courage to open up to her sister.

"I know Laur, thank you." She squeezes her sister's hand and lets out a deep sigh before starting. "Okay so, here it goes. There's a boy I met called Nate. We chatted for a little bit and he was nice. So on Thursday when I was having dinner with Ava at the cafeteria-"

"-Wait, what does that have to do with Ava?"

"Just let me finish, will you?"

"You're right, sorry."

Sara smiles at her, unable to be mad at her sister. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I was having dinner with Ava at the cafeteria and Nate showed up, so I invited him to join us."

Laurel simply nodded at her, not wanting to interrupt once again.

"Ava and him got along pretty quickly once they found out that they have some classes in common. He even suggested they exchanged numbers so that he could lend her some notes from a class she had to skip this week due to being sick."

"Oh, is she okay?"

Sara waved it off with one hand. "Yeah, she's fine now, just a minor cold. Anyway… While they were chatting I kinda felt weird about being there and suddenly left."

Laurel frowns at the information. "Why would you leave out of the blue? I mean-" realization suddenly dawns on her face and a second after her face turns into an apologetic one. "Oh no, Sara, you felt jealous didn't you?"

Sara sighs before slowly nodding. "I did, but that's not even the worst of it. Once Ava returned to the dorm, I completely ignored her at first and then when we spoke I went crazy on her and we ended up fighting."

Laurel traces her thumb on Sara's hand, trying to offer some comfort. "And then what? How are you now?"

"Well, the next day - _yesterday morning_ \- I decided to stop being a stupid idiot and talk to her. I apologized for the way I behaved and then we got to talking about what we were going to do on the weekend."

Laurel smiled brightly at that. "That's great!"

"Yeah, it is." Sara agrees, giving her a little smile.

"But why do I feel like there's still more to it?"

Sara blew a raspberry, letting herself sink into the chair. "Something happened - or almost happened - I think. I was telling her about our dinner with mom, how I wasn't sure I should go and then suddenly she put her arm around me and pulled me to her. And then a moment after, I don't how, Laurel, but we both started leaning in and I think…" Sara stops, swallowing her nerves. "I think I almost kissed her. I think I would have kissed her if it wasn't for her mom calling her on the phone and interrupting."

"Wow, okay. Did Ava say something after that?"

Sara let out a dry chuckle at remembering exactly what happened. "She acted like nothing happened and was out of the door as quickly as possible."

"I'm sorry about that, Sara. But maybe she just needs time to get her head around it. I mean, you barely know each other, just try to go slower, okay? Have you talked since?"

Sara smiles at the question. "We did, actually. We talked on the phone last night and she even asked me about my sexual orientation."

"Oh, interesting…" Laurel says, a smirk on her lips.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just think it's interesting that Ava is asking that after you almost kissed. But… it can also be a bad sign."

Sara frowns at her. "What do you mean?"

Laurel sighs. "It might mean that she's not sure about her own orientation and if so, I would hate for you to be part of an experiment and come out of it hurt."

Sara feels a pang in her heart at her sister's bluntness, but she has to agree with her. "Yeah, you're right. I'm really not up to going through that again."

"Exactly. You have to protect yourself."

Sara nods but adds, "Although, the fact that Ava is wondering about her orientation doesn't mean that she's straight. She might like women too."

"Yes, but while you don't know that for sure, please remember to be careful. That's all I'm asking."

Sara smiles fondly at her sister. "I know Laur, thank you."

* * *

Ava returned from her much needed run two hours later. It was not enough to completely shake the rage out of her body, but it did help a little bit. She took a shower before she decided to occupy herself with her studies. Even though she was home for the weekend, she still liked to maintain her usual routine. She still had to go through the notes Nate had been kind enough to share with her, so that she would be prepared for her next class.

She only stopped when her mother came up to her room to let her know lunch was ready.

After that, they decided to go for a walk in the park after Caleb's request and that's how they now find themselves at the ice cream parlour.

She cuts a piece of her crepe and mixes it with a bit of her mint and chocolate chip ice cream before bringing it to her mouth. "Mhm… My God, how I missed this."

Her mother chuckles at her daughter's reaction. "That's good honey, but maybe you shouldn't have ordered ice cream. You were sick just a couple of days ago."

Ava waves her off, taking another piece of her crepe. "I'm fine, it was just a little cold."

"Well, at least your roommate was kind enough to take care of you."

The blonde blushes at that, lowering her head to try to hide it. "Mhm-mhm."

"Ava was dreaming about Sara last night," Caleb suddenly says, making Ava snap her head at him, eyes wide-open.

She dips her spoon in his ice cream and smears a bit of it on his nose.

"Ava!" he whines, immediately cleaning his nose on his napkin. "Mom! Look at what she did!"

Her mother suppresses a chuckle, but Ava can hear it in her voice when she reprimands her. "Ava, honey, stop messing with your brother."

"That's what you get when you can't keep your mouth shut. Besides, as I already told you, I was dreaming about college, not Sara."

"You said her name while you were asleep."

"Because she is my roommate."

Their mother sighs at that before deciding to intervene. "Kids, come on, let's enjoy our desserts without fussing around."

"Fine," they both say, focusing on their food.

"And Ava, sweetie, you haven't told me yet you're enjoying college life so far? Last night we didn't get the chance to continue the conversation."

Ava shrugs her shoulders at that, the memories about the infamous dinner making her upset. She tries to shake it off and replies, "I don't know mom, so far it's way more relaxing than high school, and people seem to be more open-minded and mature, which is great. But it has only been one week, so I don't think I have experienced it fully yet."

Cindy nods at her daughter's words. "I see. Well it's good that you're enjoying it so far and that you're already making friends. It's important to socialize and build relationships."

"Mom…" Ava rolls her eyes, already knowing where the conversation is going.

"Let me finish sweetheart," her mother asks, placing her hand on top of hers. "You're a teenager, it is important for you to bond with other people. Now, I know you had a hard time doing it in high school - for several reasons - and I don't blame you. But you have a chance to do different now, Ava, so please don't waste it. I know it's scary at first, but you have nothing to be afraid of. You are a wonderful young woman, intelligent, kind-hearted and interesting. If people can't see that, it's their fault, not yours." Cindy reaches her hand out to cup her daughter's cheek. "Never forget that."

Ava smiles at her, reaching for her mother's hand. "Thanks mom, I won't."

"You're also very good at playing Pokémon," Caleb adds, making Ava and Cindy laugh.

"Why are you laughing? Did I say something wrong?"

Ava reaches across the table to ruffle her brother's hair gently. "No, buddy, quite the opposite," She assures, smiling fondly at him. He returns the smile before turning his attention back to his ice cream.

Ava settles down on her chair to finish her crepe. Once they all finish their desserts, the blonde decides to ask the question that has been on the top of her tongue since morning. "Is dad working today? I thought he would spend the day with us, seeing as I'm home this weekend…"

"Well yes, your dad was supposed to spend it with us but he isn't away for work. Something personal came up-"

"-personal? What can be more personal than spending time with his family?"

Her mother sighs, her face serious before she speaks. "I was waiting to tell you when we returned home, but it doesn't make much of a difference now."

Caleb is looking at his mother with a frown matching Ava's, and Cindy knows she has to tell them.

"Okay, do you remember Uncle Damien?"

Ava raises her eyebrows at the name, crossing her arms. "Dad's good-for-nothing brother? Yeah, I remember him."

"I don't," Caleb says, shaking his head.

His mother scratches his head. "You were too young to remember, honey."

"Mom, can you continue?"

"Yes. Okay, well, something bad happened and he had to go away. Far, far away."

Ava looks at her mother in surprise before leaning in and whispering, "You mean, like, _'far, far away to prison' _or _'far, far away dead'_?"

Caleb's eyes go wide at his sister's words. "He's dead?!" he asks loudly, making a few heads turn their way.

"Shh! Caleb, keep your voice down!"

"No! Kids… Ava, stop saying those things. He's still very much alive, but he's going to be away for a while, indeterminately."

Ava nods. "Okay, but I still don't know what Dad has to do with this?"

"Well, your cousin Nora, remember her?"

Ava scratches her head at that, trying to recall. "Yeah, I remember her from when we were kids. We were good friends but stopped hanging out all together when we ended up in different schools because she moved away."

"Okay, honey, the good news is you will get to make up for all those years because she is moving in with us and actually enrolled at your College."

"What?!" Now it was Ava's turn to raise her voice.

"Shh! Ava, we have to keep our voices down. Remember?"

Ava tries to ignore Caleb, but cannot help the blush on her cheeks when she notices a few weird looks thrown her way. She tries to refocus on the conversation at hand and turns to her mother. "I didn't even know she wanted to apply for College. I remember that everytime the topic came up, she was never one to show much interest in it."

"Well, honey, it's just like you said, many years have passed since then. People change."

Ava shrugs her shoulders at that, still not very convinced. "I guess. So, Dad went to pick her up?"

Cindy nods her reply. "That's right. They should be arriving right before dinner."

"And I take it she will be sleeping in my bedroom?" Ava asks, raising her eyebrows.

Her mother sighs at the question. "Ava, I know this is a lot of new information at the same time, but you don't need to be anxious. It's your cousin, sweetie, not a stranger."

"Might as well have been," the blonde shoots back with an eye-roll.

"Was she mean to you?" Caleb finally intervenes, finding his sister's reaction to the whole situation a bit strange.

Ava shakes her head at the question, sighing before replying. "No… it's just, I don't know. What if we don't get along? What if she doesn't like me?"

"Sweetheart, of course she's going to like you. You were inseparable as kids."

"_Were _being the operative word."

"Come on, don't be so negative. I actually believe it will do you some good. Maybe you can even introduce her to your new college friends!"

Ava purses her lips at that, finding the idea to not sound too bad. "Yeah… I guess I could."

A couple of seconds later Cindy's phone starts ringing. She picks it up, immediately lighting up when she reads the caller's ID. "Hey honey! We were just talking about you… No, no, all good things. I was actually letting the kids in on the news… Yes, of course they're excited! We can't wait to see you… Half an hour, okay. We're just finishing our ice creams and we'll be heading home… I'll see you soon. Love you too, bye!"

After arriving home, Caleb goes straight to the living room, busying himself with his Nintendo Switch while Ava goes to help her mother with dinner.

They have just finished setting up the dinner table when they hear the front door open.

Ava looks up at her mother who puts on an encouraging smile. Both women make their way to the living room, asking Caleb to join them in greeting the new visitor.

Ava's father appears with Nora by his side, a shy smile on her face. "Hello," she says firstly to Cindy, before her eyes move to Ava and then to Caleb.

"Nora! My Gosh, look at how much you have grown!" Cindy says as she steps closer to give her a hug. Nora stands awkwardly for a moment before hugging her back.

"You've turned into a beautiful young woman."

Nora blushes at the compliment, lowering her head with a sheepish smile on her face, "Thank you, Aunt Cindy."

"She's right, you're so tall now!" Ava tells her, trying to make her feel at ease. Nora actually chuckles at that, retorting, "Me? Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? You used to be smaller than me."

Ava laughs at her cousin's comment. "I had totally forgotten about that," she says, memories of the both of them flooding her brain.

Nora then turns her attention to Caleb, "You are the one who grew more, though. You look so different Caleb. You probably don't even remember me."

"No, I don't. Sorry…"

"That's okay. We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other," she reassures him with a smile, making him feel better. "Cool!"

* * *

**AN: See you in the next chapter. As always, any reviews are more than welcome!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Family Bonds

**AN: I apologized for how long it took me to update. I had actually already updated on AO3, but completely forgot to update here.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. It's mostly a filler chapter, not much plot in this one.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 11**

Laurel and Sara return from the shopping mall a little after six, both surprised at the noise coming from the kitchen once they step inside the house. They exchange a knowing look between them before Laurel calls out, "Dad?"

A voice comes from the kitchen. "In here sweetie!"

After hanging their coats and placing their shoes on the shoe rack by the door, they make their way to their father.

Sara smiles brightly at him once their eyes cross, "Hey! Something smells good," she says, side-hugging him while Laurel walks over to join them.

"I'm making grilled salmon!" Quentin announces before he closes his eyes, hugging them tightly to him. "Boy, did I miss you girls."

Sara rolls her eyes as she steps away from his embrace. "Dad, it's only been one week. You have spent a month away from us before."

"Sara is right, Dad."

Quentin shrugs his shoulders. "What can I say, this time it's different. You're both in College, all grown up. You're growing too fast for my liking. Graduation is just around the corner, then comes marriage and possibly even kids. It all goes by in a flash."

Sara chuckles at his words as she pours some water in a glass she fetched from the cupboard. "Easy there. I'm not even in a relationship, and you're already talking about marriage?" She takes a gulp of her water before continuing, "Speaking of which-"

"Sara, could you help me bring the shopping bags upstairs?" Laurel interrupts, already guessing what her sister was about to mention. Sara frowns at her before nodding and follows her out of the kitchen, placing her glass on the counter to free up her hands.

"Don't take too long girls, dinner is almost ready!" Quentin calls after them.

Once they get up to Laurel's room, she quickly closes the door. "Sara, were you about to tell Dad that Mom's getting married?" she asks while dropping the bags on her bed.

Sara shrugs. "Yeah, he deserves to know."

"Honestly, I don't think it's worth mentioning. It's only going to hurt him."

"What? Do you prefer that he finds out after she's already married? Don't you think it would hurt him more to find out that we knew and didn't tell him about the engagement?"

Laurel ponders on her little sister's words, sighing before agreeing. "Okay. I guess that would be worse."

"So it's a deal then? We're gonna tell him?" Sara asks, offering her hand to Laurel. The older girl eyes it carefully before shaking it. "Yep, it's a deal," she says. With one last look at each other, Laurel moves to open the door. "Now let's go. I can't wait to have some of Dad's cooking again."

Once they reach the bottom of the stairs, the kitchen table is already set for them to start eating.

"Dad, you didn't have to do all this on your own." Laurel tells him while shaking her head.

"It's no problem honey. I like doing this for my baby girls. Besides, I'm sure you're both tired after all that shopping."

"Yeah, you know how Laurel likes to drag me through _every _single store until we conquer the whole mall," Sara tells him as she sits down on one of the chairs.

Laurel snorts at her sister's words. "Pu-lease, you can't complain since I treated you to some fancy sushi that you were _dying _to have," she says with a smirk after taking the seat across the table from Sara, leaving the one between them for their father.

Quentin sits down after filling both their plates with food. He loads up his plate while signaling them to start eating. "Well girls, enjoy."

"Thanks Dad, I'm sure it's delicious," Laurel says with her trademark kind smile.

A comfortable silent falls between the three of them before Quentin clears his throat. "So, how's the first week of college been treating you?"

Laurel lets out a breath at the question. "I'm already swamped with homework for several classes. It's even worse than last year."

Her father looks worried, extending his right hand to rub her arm soothingly. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, sweetheart. But I'm sure you can handle it. You're going to be a great lawyer soon enough!"

Laurel beams at him, her eyes sparkling. "Thanks Dad!" she tells him, taking his hand in hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. "That means a lot coming from you."

Quentin shrugs his shoulders. "It's the truth sweetie, I have no doubts about it."

He then turns to his youngest daughter, who he notices is strangely pushing her food around her plate.

"Sara?" Quentin calls, and the concern evident in his voice makes her glance up. He smiles at her, hoping to hear about her new adventures. "What about you honey? How's college life so far?"

She smiles back at him before replying, "It's calm. I haven't had many classes yet."

Quentin nods at that. "What about your roommate? What was her name again?"

"Ava-"

"Ava! Yes, that was it. How are you two getting along?"

"Oh, they have-" Sara guesses the reason for her sister's smirk just in time to silence her with a kick under the table, earning Laurel a weird look from her father.

"Everything alright, Laurel?" he asks with slight concern. She quickly nods after a glare from Sara. Quentin seems to accept the reply and turns back to his youngest.

"Sorry honey, go ahead."

"Ava's great. We are finding out that we have stuff in common, so it's nice to chat with her. I even invited her to Maya and Z's apartment on movie night, and they all got along pretty well. She's smart, and she can be really funny, too." She realizes that both her father and sister are looking at her with similar smirks on their faces, which causes her to narrow her eyes at them. "What?"

Quentin quickly glances at Laurel before looking at Sara again, shaking his head with a smile on his face. "Nothing, sweetheart. It's nice to know you like your roommate, that's all."

Sara's eyes switch between her father and sister as she decides whether or not to press the matter further. Silence falls between the three of them once more while they finish their meal.

Some time passes until Quentin clears his throat to get the attention of both girls. He wipes his mouth with his napkin before asking, "So, girls, how was dinner with your mother the other night?"

Sara and Laurel both look up from their plates at the same time, communicating with each other by exchanging a look between them. Sara nods, encouraging Laurel and trying to convince her that this is the best decision at this time.

The older girl nods back, placing her left hand on top of Quentin's right. She squeezes it softly.

"Actually, we have something to tell you."

He frowns at her before turning his gaze on Sara, who's now reaching for his free hand, mimicking Laurel's gesture.

"Is everything okay with Dinah? Did something bad happen?"

Sara shakes her head to reassure him. "She's fine Dad, don't worry."

Quentin nods at the information, looking between both his daughters. "What's the matter then?"

Laurel and Sara share a sigh, and then the eldest blonde finally shares the news. "Mom is getting married… to Steve."

Quentin stays in silence, processing her daughter's words. Eventually his shoulders drop and his body sags against the back of his chair, a deep sigh passing through his lips.

"I see…" He nods, still processing the new information. Laurel moves closer to press a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Dad, are you okay?"

Sara frowns at the scene, racking her brain. She tries to come up with a way to make him feel better, but nothing comes to mind. How can she make him feel better when the love of his life is about to marry another man? A small, unpleasant feeling settles in the pit of her stomach, one that she easily identifies as rage. Rage that seems to grow everytime she thinks about what her mother is doing. She still doesn't understand how her mother could ever, _would ever_, trade her father - a good, honest, brave and kind-hearted man - for an idiot like _Steve_. And now that they're actually getting married, it makes everything feel worse. This means that their relationship is really over. There's no chance for her parents getting back together now. Even if she hates to admit it, there was still a tiny part of her that had hope, hope that things would go back to the way they were.

Not because of her, but because of her father. She knows, she _sees_, how much Quentin still loves Dinah. Despite everything that has happened between both of them, the sad truth is that Quentin would take her back in a heartbeat.

"I'm okay, honey. Don't worry." Her father's voice pulls her out of her thoughts, and only then does she finally notice that Quentin and Laurel were both giving her concerned looks.

She clears her throat. "Sorry, what?"

Quentin gives her a fond smile even though his warm brown eyes still hold worry in them. He reaches his hand out, cupping her cheek and caressing it softly. "I said I'm okay Sara. You don't have to worry about me."

Sara smiles back sadly, covering his hand with hers. "We both know that's not true. I know you still love her Dad," she says, her voice breaking.

Laurel reaches across the table to hold Sara's free hand in her right one, tracing her thumb over her little sister's knuckles. "Sara is right Dad. We know how hard this is for you." She holds Quentin's gaze in hers, vehemency in her voice as she says, "But you're not alone in this. You have us. We'll always be here for you."

Sara nods her agreement before both she and Laurel get up to hug their father tightly in reassurance. He hugs back with all his might, relishing the warmth that it brings to his wounded heart. "Thank you, girls. I love you to the moon and back."

"We love you too Dad," they both say in unison, smiling fondly at him.

* * *

After the Sharpe family finishes their dinner, Ava decides to take Nora to her room so they can talk more privately.

Once inside, Nora takes a look around before saying, "Wow. This place really changed a lot. Last time I was here your bed was full of plushies, and your walls were decorated with posters of Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, and all those other dumb celebrities."

Ava rubs the back of her neck out of awkward embarrassment. "Yeah… I just got fed up of constantly having to look at them, I guess?"

Nora smirks at her cousin's reply. "I can see that," she says, walking across the room to stand in front of one of the new posters that was now on the wall. _"Behavioral, Cognitive, Social, Biological, Psychology, Humanistic, Psychoanalytic, Developmental and Evolutionary?"_

Ava moves to stand next to Nora, a small smile on her face. "Yeah. Those are the different fields of psychology."

The brunette nods at the comment turning away to sit down on Ava's bed. Ava grabs her desk chair and sits down across from Nora.

"It's the subject you chose for College, right?" Ava nods, and Nora continues. "Your dad told me a bit about the last few years during the car ride. It's strange being here again, after so many years."

Ava's face turns into one of apprehension. "I'm sorry your trip had to be caused by a bad situation, Nora. I can't even begin to imagine how you must be feeling. I know we haven't talked in a long time, but I want you to know that I am here for you if you need to talk."

Nora's chest constricts at hearing her cousin's kind and honest words, and she has to pull herself together before speaking. "Thank you Ava. That means a lot," she says, voice trembling slightly as she gives the blonde a thankful smile. She sniffles as she wipes a couple of stubborn tears that insist on falling before asking, "Now, tell me, why psychology? I don't remember you being that interested when we were kids."

Ava shrugs her shoulders, crossing her arms over her chest as she reclines into the chair. "I'm not sure when it started, exactly, but my interest in the human mind grew over time. One day I just knew that it was what I wanted to do with my life. And also…" She stops, biting her bottom lip.

"Yeah? You can tell me, I won't judge."

Ava smiles softly at Nora's words. "Caleb. Caleb is probably the biggest reason I'm doing this."

Nora frowns at her words. Before she can ask anything, Ava continues. "He has Asperger's. It's a lighter type of autism."

The brunette raises her eyebrows at the new piece of information. "Wow, I had no idea. What does that mean, exactly, if it's okay to ask?"

Ava scratches her cheek at the question, wondering what the best way to explain it is. "Well… He sometimes has meltdowns because he has trouble accepting certain things. It's also hard for him to make new friends and maintain friendships. He has trouble expressing his feelings and simply understanding feelings in general. He's blunt, goes straight to the point which is actually one of the things I love most about him. But it's hard on him because sometimes people get really mad at him, and he simply doesn't understand why. On the other hand, he can be the sweetest kid and loves cuddling, especially with me. And he's so freaking intelligent and remembers everything."

Nora's smile grows the entire time Ava talks about Caleb. When the blonde is done, she speaks again. "It must not be easy for him, but I'm glad he has an amazing sister like you. I can see how much you love him."

Ava lets out a sheepish chuckle. "Yeah, I really love the kid. I'm not that good though. He's the amazing one."

Nora chuckles drily. "I see not everything has changed."

Her cousin frowns at the comment. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you still have trouble accepting compliments and thinking highly about yourself."

Ava shrugs her shoulders, avoiding her cousin's deep green stare. "Yeah well, I just don't think I'm that special."

Nora reaches out and places her right hand on Ava's knee. "Well, you should."

An awkward silence falls between them after that until Ava clears her throat, glancing at her cousin again. "What about you? Mom already told me you decided to join my College. Have you already decided on a major yet?"

Nora flashes her a bright smile, nodding. "I have. I wanna work as a social worker. I want to be able to help kids in need, finding a new and loving home for them."

Ava feels moved at hearing her cousin's confession. "Nora, that's very noble and kind of you. I'm sure you will be great at it."

Nora smiles fondly at her. "Thank you. I can't wait to start, honestly, I'm so excited!"

"Will you be staying in the dorms?"

"Yep. I hope my roommate is cool. Are you in the dorms too?"

Ava nods as a reply. "Mhm-mhm."

"Oh nice. How's your roommate?"

The blonde feels herself blush a bit, her traitorous brain reminding her of the recent dream. She picks at a loose thread on her jeans. "She's cool, we get along fine," she says, head down trying to hide her red face.

Nora smirks at her awkwardness. "Are you sure? You don't sound very convincing."

At her words, Ava lifts her head, immediately ready to defend Sara. "No, no! I mean, yes! She's nice. Sara is very nice." _Especially nice to look at. _She closes her eyes briefly, cursing her own thoughts.

Nora has a smirk on her face, unable to hide her amusement at her cousin's reaction. "Sara, uh? Now I can't help but be curious about meeting this Sara."

Ava rolls her eyes half-heartedly, a small smile on her face. She gets up and makes her way to her closet. "Anyway, we should change into some comfy clothes and get some sleep. Tomorrow is a brand new day, especially for you. If you're moving in on campus, we need to be there early. Mom will probably drive us in the morning, yeah?"

Nora can't help the anxiety that settles in the pit of her stomach as she lays awake under the covers on Ava's bed. She is starting to get restless, because as much as she wants to, her mind will simply not let her fall asleep.

"Ava…" she whispers, getting no answer. "Ava? Are you still awake?" she tries a bit louder.

"No," comes the reply, and Nora can hear the teasing in her gravelly voice. A second later, Ava moves to lay on her side. Nora does the same, leaving both girls facing each other.

"I can't fall asleep. I'm too nervous about tomorrow," Nora confesses. Ava can see the fear in her eyes and frowns. "Do you remember when we were little kids, and I stopped going to birthday parties and sometimes even skipped school?"

Nora nods, "Yeah, I do. You would say yes to the invitation, but then at the last minute you'd skip it."

"Exactly. You know why?"

Nora thinks for a little while but ends up shaking her head. "I never really understood what the reason was. I just thought that maybe you didn't like those people that much, and simply said yes to not disappoint them or sound mean."

"Well… It wasn't because of that, but there _**was **_a reason behind it."

"Okay. Do you wanna tell me about it?"

"I've never told anyone about it. No one, except for my dad and mom, knows about it."

Nora smiles apprehensively. "I know it's scary, but I'm the last person who would judge you. I'm really in no position to ever judge."

Ava swallows, chewing on her bottom lip as she tries to control her anxiety. _It's now or never. _

"I have an anxiety disorder. I have lived with it my whole life. I had a therapist for a while which helped at the time, but last year it got worse. So much worse that I graduated high school without any friends at all. They all got fed up with dealing with my antisocial behavior, and I can't really blame them."

Nora frowns at the information, reaching for Ava's hand and squeezing it softly, trying to offer a bit of support. "I had no idea, Ava. I'm sorry that you felt you had to keep it a secret for so long, but now that I know you can always talk to me about it. If we're in a place and you start feeling anxious, please tell me. I'll get us out of there, okay? No questions asked."

Ava clenches her jaw, stalling the inevitable tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Nora," she says shakily. "Anyways, I wanted to tell you that if I was able to do it, then so can you. Besides, I'll be there for you. You have a friend in me."

Nora chuckles at her words, a thankful smile on her face. "You have a friend in me too."

They spend a few minutes more chatting, slowly winding down until they start to feel tired. Nora still feels nervous about facing a new day, but she focuses on her excitement instead. Besides, she will not be facing this new phase of her life all on her own. She has her cousin by her side now.

On the other side of the bed, Ava has her own thoughts spinning around in her mind. On one hand she's excited to go back, to attend some of her classes for the first time. On the other, she can't help the nerves that settle on her stomach at the thought of seeing Sara again. The last time they were together, it almost… She's not even sure what happened, what _was_ _about _to happen. She just remembers the need she felt to bolt out of the room right away, her anxiety getting the best of her. But despite all that anxiety, there's also a new found excitement whenever she thinks of seeing Sara again, of showing her the printed pictures they took on the day they met. She can already imagine the beautiful dimpled smile on the smaller blonde's face. And that's what she ends up focus on.

She eventually falls asleep with a smile, in part for being glad that her mother was right once again, as usual. It was totally worth it, giving her cousin a chance instead of listening to her suffocating insecurities and fears.


End file.
